for a while, then sold our business and decided to have an adventure. We did some research and discovered that Luckmore was an ancient medieval site with special spiritual significance.’
‘There’s a very auspicious ley line running through the village,’ said Loveday when no one spoke.
‘You mean the south-east railway route,’ said Harry, who clearly thought they were joking. ‘The village is littered with the corpses of people who have died waiting for that train to come.’
Everyone laughed apart from Wolf and Loveday.
‘It’s very important for Wolf and me to have a spiritual connection with the place where we live for our work,’ she explained. ‘Especially in this new phase of our life. Luckmore has magical qualities.’
‘It’s
not exactly bloody Stonehenge though, is it?’ interrupted Adam.
‘Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we feel close to Mother Earth here,’ said Loveday seriously. ‘This is a place where we can give, share, cleanse and nurture in peace and harmony.’
‘So what line of business are you in?’ asked Adam.
‘We’re in the healing business,’ said Loveday, resting her hand on Adam’s forearm.
‘Doctors?’
‘Therapists,’ said Wolf.
‘Do you have any particular area of expertise?’ asked Adam.
‘We do,’ said Loveday. ‘Sexual healing. Are you aware that human beings are the only species on earth who have sex primarily for pleasure rather than procreation?’
‘I hadn’t really thought about it,’ said Adam.
‘So what exactly is it that you do?’ asked Rachel.
‘Wolf and I try and help couples achieve prolonged multiple intercourse with the same partner,’ explained Loveday. ‘We believe in mutual respect between men and women and reverence for the sexual act. We try and help distinguish between healthy and unhealthy habits.’
‘What kind of unhealthy habits?’ asked Rachel when no one else spoke.
‘Lack of foreplay, the destructive nature of pornography, the dangers of over-ejaculation for men,’ replied Loveday.
‘And will you be continuing that same line of work
now you’ve moved here?’ asked Harry as if they had just told them they were accountants.
‘We will continue to see our regular clients,’ said Wolf. ‘And we’re hoping to set up a healing centre.’
‘Well, that’s great,’ said Rachel. ‘Really lovely. It’s not easy making a living somewhere like this.’
‘We fell for the house too,’ said Wolf quickly. ‘All the early-morning light flooding through those huge glass windows. I can’t imagine ever living anywhere else now.’
‘I think everyone has a dream house in their head,’ said Rachel. ‘When I wake up at four o’clock in the morning and can’t get back to sleep I imagine where I would really like to live and build it in my imagination. I see myself sitting in a really big apartment somewhere in southern France. It’s got a huge sitting room with two sets of long double doors that open out onto a balcony with black wrought-iron railings that runs the whole way along the front of the house. It overlooks a lake and I have a small rowing boat moored by a jetty. When I get back to sleep I always have the same dream. There’s a small table with a white lace tablecloth beside one of the open windows and a meal for two waiting on the table and someone waiting for me to sit down.’
‘Who is it?’ asked Ailsa, grateful for Rachel’s efforts to get the conversation back on track.
‘I don’t know, I never see his face,’ said Rachel. ‘Only the back of him.’
‘So what brought you folks here?’ asked Wolf.
‘Ailsa’s job really. I’m stepping back for a while to
write a book based on my research and do the domestic stuff until she gets on top of it all,’ said Harry. He walked behind the sofa and put a hand on Ailsa’s shoulder. Ailsa stayed still.
‘How generous to put your wife’s career before your own,’ said Loveday. It had been said many times before but