Different Worlds Ch. 01

There's a lot of build up before we get to the hanky panky, I do get there eventually though, and I hope it's worth the wait. My eternal gratitude goes to the many people who have had a hand in editing this first chapter, Misternik, NaokoSmith, but mostly north200.

~

Ivy always felt a surge of excitement at the start of a new journey. Her van was her home and she loved living on the road and the freedom it brought her.

She was planning to overnight at Stonehenge, watch the sunrise and then park up at a Travellers' site near Hungerford for a few weeks. There might be a bit of gardening work with Luke in the offing if he was busy, but she wasn't too worried. She'd cleaned up at the cocktail bar this year, as they always did at Glastonbury. It was the biggest festival on the circuit. All she needed was enough money to get her through the winter after the work dried up, and it was only June.

Yup, she had it all worked out. That was, until she tried to start her van. The engine turned over okay and it would go into first, but she couldn't get it into second gear. She tried a few times; the clutch made a scraping sound whenever she pushed it down.

Ivy winced, she might damage something if she didn't stop. She switched the engine off and popped the hood. Heat bathed her face. She studied the clutch, it looked the same as it always looked. She climbed out of the cab and underneath the front and studied the gear box. She couldn't see any obvious problems there, either.

She climbed back out and angrily kicked the tyre, stubbing her toe.

"Ow!"

"You alright, Ivy? What happened?" Ruth said from behind her.

Ivy stopped hopping, slumped down on a nearby pallet, wrapped her hands around her foot and huffed out an angry breath. "The fucking clutch is what's happened, I can't get the van into second. I don't know what's wrong with it, it just isn't engaging. I can't drive all the way to Stonehenge in first gear!" the words tore out of her mouth like a freight train with failing brakes.

"Alright," Ruth's face fell. "There's no need to bite my head off."

Ivy felt like she'd just kicked a puppy. Ruth, who was normally smiling or laughing was watching Ivy, her blue eyes wide.

Ruth made up for her diminutive size with her enthusiasm. As usual she was dressed in bright colours, at the moment her short thick hair was dyed pillar-box red, but it changed colour almost every time Ivy saw her.

"I'm sorry. I'm panicking. I don't know what's wrong or how long it's going to take to fix and I hate not being able to just climb in and drive away. But that's not your fault."

"What are you gonna do?" Ruth asked.

"I don't know. I can't stay here much longer, not that I'd want to." They surveyed the post-festival choas of discarded bottles and other bits of litter scattered around them. "I need a tow and a park up sharpish, preferably here in the fair county of Somerset until I can figure what the problem is and how to fix it."

"You might be able to help out with the litter picking crew in the meantime," Ruth said, giving her a sideways grin. The litter pickers had already begun the mammoth task of tidying up after the festival. It wasn't well paid, but it was worth it because of the stuff you found. The punters were often so keen to get going at the end of the festival that they left all sorts of stuff behind: clothes, tents, shoes, money, Ivy had even come across contra-band drugs on occasion, but taking drugs when you didn't know where they'd come from was a risky business, best avoided.

"I was hoping to have moved past that stage in my life by now. I might put the kettle on, seeing as I'm not going anywhere. D'you fancy a cuppa?"

"Yeah, go on then."

They sat quietly drinking their tea until Ivy let out an exasperated sigh.

"Shit, I need to go tell everyone who thinks they're getting a lift to Stonehenge."

"I can do that."

"Thanks, I'd really appreciate it."

Ruth bounded off, leaving her tea undrunk, and Ivy crawled back under the truck. After more careful examination she noticed a small amount of fluid had leaked onto the clutch plate. When she scrabbled back out again to look for the workshop manual, she found Geoff, Andy and Ruth standing by the cab discussing the Dodge 50.

Geoff and Andy were like two peas in a pod, both wearing similar khaki green German army-issue jackets. Both had shaved heads, they lost their signature dreads almost at the same time a few summers ago.

Ruth mouthed a silent apology.

Ivy gave her an exasperated look. There was nothing Andy and Geoff liked more than finding someone, preferably female, whose truck wouldn't start so they could condescendingly explain what needed to be done.

She straightened up and brushed down her jeans. "Alright lads? You've heard about my vehicle woes?"

"Yeah, Ruth mentioned it," Geoff drawled as he leaned against the truck. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The clutch pedal has no resistance, it just hits the floor. I can get into gear but I can't get out of first. I was thinking of bleeding up the master cylinder but I've noticed it's leaking fluid so that seems pointless."

"You see," said Andy. "This is the thing a lot of you ladies don't get about livin' on the road, its not all festivals and parties, you can't just get daddy to buy you a vehicle and drive off, when you're a traveller you gotta know how to look after your motor, you gotta be able to change a tyre for starters

Ivy clenched her fists so hard her finger nails bit painfully into her palms. She was about to spit a rude response when Geoff spoke, he was the quieter of the two and Ivy found him less irritating.

"I reckon the seal in the slave cylinder has probably gone. Happens quite a bit with Dodge 50s. Shall I take a look?"

Ivy took a deep breath, as much as it pained her to admit it, she couldn't afford to refuse this offer, it was well known that Geoffs knowledge of dodge mechanics was unsurpassed.

"Yeah, that would be great Geoff, thanks."

Geoff disappeared under the vehicle.

"Jump into the driver's seat and pump the pedal a few times," he shouted up. Andy looked like he was about to do it, but Ivy glared at him.

"Sure." she replied as she climbed back into the cab.

"Yep, it's the slave cylinder seal, come and have a look."

Climbing down she crawled back under the vehicle, and lay down next to Geoff. He pointed out the same patch of fluid she'd noticed earlier.

"You're right. There's no point in bleeding it up until that seal's been changed, it'll just suck in more air. You can order a new one from JDS parts."

"I've got their number," said Andy, "I'll get it for you."

As Ivy watched Andy swagger back from his Bedford MK she made a mental promise that she would never complain about the two of them being pompous, know-it-all arses again, or until next time Andy said something condescending at least.

Andy handed her a dog-eared business card.

"Here, I know a geezer what works there: Adam. If you ask for him and tell him you're a mate of mine, he'll sort you out, make sure it gets sent out same day and all that."

She nodded. "Thanks guys."

She felt a surge of relief. Having your vehicle break down was bad enough, but when it doubled up as your home, it was a whole world of shit. She was still going check out the workshop manual later though, just to confirm Geoff's diagnosis.

Geoff laughed. "Don't thank us yet, it's a bitch to fit."

"And I still haven't got a park up."

"I can't help you there, love."

"You can come and stay with us!" said Ruth

"Really?"

"We're renting some land near Bruton, a small bit of woodland on a country estate. I can ask the gaffer; he's a good bloke." Ivy remembered how pleased Ruth had been when they'd first found the place. Ruth and her boyfriend Alex had been on the road longer than Ivy and being constantly moved on had started to get to them. She was over the moon to have somewhere more permanent to live than the Traveller sites they knew each other from. "I'm sure he'd be okay with you pulling on for a bit. I'll give you a ring when I've talked to him."

It was only a few short hours later, but Ivy had gone from despairing to being totally sorted and she still couldn't believe it. She was sitting in bed with a cup of cocoa reading her Dodge 50 workshop manual. 'The gaffer' had told Ruth that Ivy could stay as long as she could pay the rent, which was only £60 a month. Hopefully she wouldn't need to be there for that long. Andy had given her a tow her to the new site before he headed off to Stonehenge. She'd rung JDS parts, and although they didn't have the seal in stock they said they could order it and could get it to her on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest, and it would only cost £6.50.

It seemed that Geoff was right, fluid did appear to be coming from the slave cylinder seal. It was awkward to get to and it was covered in black sticky stuff. She wondered how long it had been leaking.

-

Ivy woke up the following morning, opened her door and looked around. She was parked on a grand country estate up behind some outbuildings under a tree in a small copse.

Green, everything was green. The trees were coated in moss, the ground covered in ferns, above her was a rich canopy of leaves. It was still and calm and quiet, and Ivy smiled as she took it all in. She could see Ruth and Alex's bus through a glade of spindly oak trees. The door opened and Ruth emerged and walked over.

"Morning, Ivy!"

"Coffee?"

Ruth nodded. "Lovely! Thanks." Ivy took her coffee very seriously and people rarely said no when she offered.

"Damn, I'm out of milk."

"We've only got soya in ours." Ruth's boyfriend Alex was a vegan.

Ivy wrinkled her nose. "Soya milk in coffee? That's disgusting."

Ruth laughed. "Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"Where's the nearest shop?"

"There's a farm shop on site, not far. I can show you."

"I'll just grab my purse."

On the short walk over Ruth explained that she'd started working at the shop two days a week. Sally the farm shop manager had gone part time, her dad had moved into nursing home recently after having a stroke and she needed more time to visit him and help him adjust to the move.

They arrived in no time and Sally greeted them with a warm smile. She was tall and slim with short silver hair, large brown eyes and olive skin. She was wearing lots of silver jewellery, which complemented her hair beautifully her clothing was well-tailored linen. She was soon chatting away, putting Ivy at her ease. Ivy's only worry was how much money she might spend in a shop that was conveniently close and filled with yummy organic food.

"I saw the walnut trees on the way over here. There are so many."

"Yes, and they smell so delightful, but we never really get to eat any, the squirrels always get to them first."

"Ivy can pickle walnuts," Ruth said.

"How did you know that?" Ivy asked

Ruth grinned. "You gave me a jar once for Christmas."

"That sounds fascinating! Is it difficult to pickle walnuts?" asked Sally.

"You have to start before the shell forms, and it's a bit of a faff but at least you'd get to eat them. It would be a solution to your squirrel problems," Ivy said.

"I don't know if I've ever eaten pickled walnuts," said Sally.

"They are an acquired taste, most places only sell them around Christmas. I made some once on a farm in France a few years ago."

Ruth joined in, typically enthusiastic. "We should make some, we could sell them in the farm shop!"

"Well we'd need to do this quite quickly - the shells form around the end of June," explained Ivy

Sally's face fell. "That might be difficult, we're pushed for time. We need to prepare for the ball. Perhaps we can do it next year instead."

"The ball?" asked Ivy.

"Yes. Terence has twins, Caroline and William," explained Sally. "They're having a ball for their 21st birthday and it's this weekend. We're all flat out."

"Who's Terence?" asked Ivy

"Lord Cartwright, he's the gaffer," explained Ruth

"Oh the Lord, right, of course. So there's going to be a ball?"

"Yes, a masked ball," Ruth answered, grinning.

"Well I can make a start on the walnuts, I'm not flat out. In fact I'm at a bit of loose end while I wait for this seal to turn up. So I could pick them and then they need to soak in brine for a few days anyway."

"Brilliant," Sally looked pleased. "I'll let Terence know, he'll be thrilled. He was just saying the other day what a shame it was that we always lose the walnuts."

-

And that was how, a few days later Ivy found herself sitting in a tree, picking under-ripe walnuts and surrounded by the fragrant perfume of the leaves. Ruth had gone to find a ladder, but she'd been too impatient to wait, so instead she'd scrambled up into the lower branches of one of the more accessible trees.

When she'd met Terence he'd been very enthusiastic about pickling the walnuts. Usually Ivy's instinct was to be suspicious of landed gentry but she couldn't help but like him.

He was short - handsome despite his advancing years, with warm intelligent eyes and a nice smile. Put simply he was too charming to harbour any strong prejudices against.

He'd suggested that there might be some work going in the various gardens on the estate and that he would be happy to arrange for Ivy to meet Kevin the head gardener for a chat, but it would have to wait until after the ball. Ivy wasn't sure about being on the staff of a stately home, but she couldn't help getting excited about the idea of working on an estate with such extensive and varied grounds.

There were 14 acres of ancient woodland, a maze and various gardens, including a Victorian walled kitchen garden that had fallen out of use some time after the war. Terence had mentioned plans to restore it. Some parts of the building still standing dated from as early as the 17th century.

Kevin was nearing retirement. Terence suggested to Ivy that he needed more help; he was getting too old to be doing it all on his own, especially with the new restoration project. Ivy pretended not to be interested but she found herself getting into a discussion about the kitchen garden.

She smiled to herself, now that she knew her mechanical problem wasn't too serious she decided this was a lovely place to be broken down. She was happy to be spending a few days pickling walnuts.

Until her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a cool, arrogant voice.

"What are you doing up there?"

There were two men on horseback directly underneath the tree she was perched in

Ivy pulled a face. Horseback? Had she travelled back in time?

"I'm picking walnuts," she tried to keep her voice normal and hide her irritation. She wasn't sure she'd managed it.

How did they get so close without her noticing? She must have been too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear them approach. She didn't like them, with their plummy accents and their thoroughbred horses. They reeked of entitlement.

"This is private land, you can't do that without permission." As the voice went on, Ivy quickly progressed from irritated to seething.

Don't swear don't swear don't swear, Ivy frantically thought to herself. Her first instinct was to tell them where to go; she wasn't used to living in places she had permission to live in. She had to remind herself that rude wasn't an appropriate reaction in these circumstances

Instead she replied through gritted teeth. "For your information I do have permission."

The other one spoke for the first time, his tone was more quizzical.

"But they're not ripe."

"No, Sally was saying that the squirrels always eat them all before they ripen so I suggested pickling them."

He was nodding, slowly. "I see." He glanced over at his companion. "William, we should get back. Lunch will be ready."

And off they trotted, without so much as a backward glance.

Ivy was still fuming when Ruth returned with the ladder.

"Are you ok?"

"Does Terence have any other sons?"

"Yes, there's Richard; Will and Caroline's older brother. Why?"

"I think I just met him, and William, too."

Ruth's eyes widened, it was clear that Ivy's nose had been put out of joint. "What happened?"

"They were very rude, they basically accused me of trespassing and then trotted off on their horses without even apologising after I'd set them straight."

"Really? I've never met William but that doesn't seem like Richard, he's usually so ... nice." Ruth looked dreamy.

"Not that I noticed," Ivy replied stiffly.

-

The walnuts were soaking in brine outside Ivy's Dodge and Ivy and Ruth were having a cuppa, when Sally knocked.

"Come in, the kettle's just boiled. Can I make you anything?"

"Thanks but I can't stop. I'm rushed off my feet with this bloody party. I wanted to ask you a huge favour, Ivy."

"Okay," Ivy replied

Sally didn't speak again straight away; instead she was looking around the interior of the vehicle open mouthed.

"What a beautiful home you have. It's really lovely, it's just so..."

"Small?"

"Well yes, okay, it's small. But it's perfect, Ivy. It's like a little fairy dwelling."

"Thank you, but is everything okay Sally?"

"Gosh, I'd almost forgotten there for a minute. No, it really isn't. Two of the serving staff have called in sick with something gastric. I wondered if you wouldn't mind stepping in. We would pay you, obviously."

Ivy's face fell and Ruth laughed.

"Ivy met Richard and William earlier, they kind of got off on the wrong foot."

"Well that is odd. Will can be a bit uptight, but Richard really is very easy going. I'm sorry to ask it of you, Ivy," Sally looked imploringly at her. "It's going to be such a big event. I just don't know how I'll cope without some extra help."

At the thought of spending an entire evening serving jumped-up toads like the ones she'd met earlier, Ivy's heart sunk, but she needed the money and if the event really was going to be that big, maybe she wouldn't even see them. Sally looked so tired and harried that Ivy found herself agreeing despite her better judgement.

"Thank you so much. You've saved my life! I have to dash."

Sally pulled Ivy into a brief hug and then she was gone.

"Why did I say yes? Why?" Ivy wailed, flopping down into her sofa and burying her face in her hands.

"Sally can be quite difficult to say no to," said Ruth, "And anyway it will be fun!"

"I'd rather poke my own eyes out with a rusty nail."

"Ivy, it will be fine. I'm going to be working there too."

"Well that's something at least, and anyway I've promised Sally. I'll do it now."

-

Two hours later Ivy and Ruth were hurrying over to the house. She'd never seen it in daylight before. She inhaled sharply as they emerged from the woods and she got her first proper look at it.

It looked spectacular as it rose proudly from meticulously tended lawns. There was a lake, vast and perfectly still, off to one side. She wanted to stop walking and just stand and take it all in but they were already running late.

It was early evening and the sun was beginning to set, bathing the yellow stone in a magical golden light. There were turrets and chimneys, and so many windows. Ivy tried to calculate how many rooms that must mean but she didn't have time. As they continued to walk towards the entrance, she tried to ignore the little voice that was telling her she didn't belong there.

The ballroom was huge and breathtakingly decadent. The first things Ivy noticed when they entered the ballroom were the three enormous chandeliers hung from the towering ceiling. They sparkled as if they were constructed out of hundreds of diamonds. A lot of time and money had been spent on the décor, the room was filled with huge glass vases containing extravagant flower arrangements, like nothing she'd ever seen. There were large, exotic lilies, birds of paradise, orchids. They made a bold statement and for a while she could only stare open mouthed.