Room For A Few

The Viewing

As Marcy was making her way home, after another unsuccessful day trying to find a flat to rent, she saw a faded sign down a small side street. 'Fernshaw Estate Agents', Marcy had never heard of them before, but walked the few short steps and stood in front of the estate agents window. She tried to peer through the grime on the window, but could only see hazy photographs of the property they had to rent.

Slowly, Marcy pushed the door open, a bell tinkled, its clapper half worn with use. Marcy blinked, from the back of the dimly lit office an old man appeared.

“Can I help you?”

He moved over to Marcy and stared intensely.

“Erm yes, maybe…do you have any one-bed flats for rent?”

“Single? Married?”

“Pardon?”

Marcy looked at him; his piercing green eyes made her nervous.

“You…are you single or married?“

“Oh, I see. I'm single“

“Boyfriend?“

Marcy did not like the feeling of interrogation.

“Look, I'm single, no boyfriend, no family, just me, is that OK?“

She glared at him.

“No family?“

Marcy turned to leave.

“Forget it, I only wanted to know if you had any flats to rent“

The old man put his hand on her arm; she felt his cold icy grip.

“My apologies my dear, it's just that I have to make sure, there are so many unsuitable tenants. Our clients rely on us to ensure we only provide suitable tenants…“

Marcy turned to face him, he smiled at her.

“No, don't apologise. I'm tired, been all day searching for a flat and…“

“Yes, I believe we have a suitable property for you, just a moment“

The old man picked up a set of keys off the desk and turned back to Marcy.

“I'll take you to see it now…I assume that will be satisfactory with you?“

“Well, yes, but where is the flat, how much is the…“

He held up his hand.

“Details, details, don't worry yourself about the details. I am sure the rent is within your price range, and when you see its location, I know it is precisely what you are looking for. This way if you please“

“Wait…you haven't told me your…“

“My name is Mr Fernshaw, please follow me“

He hurried out of the door, Marcy following behind him. They crossed the road and turned down a street. Marcy knew the area well; there was a lovely park at the end.

“There's a nice park at the end of the road, you can see it from the flat…“

Marcy looked at Mr Fernshaw; he was almost answering her questions before she'd asked them. Stopping suddenly, Mr Fernshaw turned to face her. Marcy only just stopped in time.

“Here we are…“

He pointed to the property in front of him with a flourish of his hand.

Marcy stared in amazement. For as long as she'd lived in the town, this was one property she'd always dreamed of living in.

“But Mr Fernshaw, there must be some mistake, even a small flat in this property is out of my price range“

Mr Fernshaw opened the front door and appearing to ignore what Marcy had said, stepped inside. Marcy followed him thinking it wouldn't hurt to have a look at least.

“I hope you don't mind stairs, there's three flight to the attic…“

Marcy was surprised how sprightly Mr Fernshaw appeared, he almost bounded up the stairs with Marcy following breathlessly behind. They stopped outside a door, Mr Fernshaw turned the key and walked inside.

Marcy took a deep breath. It was as beautiful as she'd imagined, most of the Victorian fittings were still in place, this would have been the servants quarters when the house was still used as a whole house. She followed Mr Fernshaw through into the sitting room, and stopped dead in her tracks. The whole room was painted in a vivid shade of red.

As she looked around the room, she could make out a faint shadow of a mural, what appeared to be people, a crowd of people. She walked over to one of the walls and started to trace the outline of one of the people, but quickly withdrew her hand.

“The wall feels sticky, is there a problem with damp?“

She turned to face Mr Fernshaw.

“Oh, it just needs airing“

Walking over to the window, Mr Fernshaw fiddled with the old sash fastening and raised the window a few inches.

“There, a bit of fresh air will help, and a fresh coat of paint…“

He turned to face Marcy.

“Well, will the flat be suitable?“

Marcy laughed.

“To be honest Mr Fernshaw, I doubt I can afford the rent…“

“Don't worry yourself about affording the rent. The flat hasn't been lived in for a year, it needs redecorating, and may I say, a woman's touch. So if you're prepared to breathe some life into the place, I'm sure our client will agree to a reduced rent for the first six months. Would that be agreeable?“

“I would still like to know the full rent payable as well as the reduced rent, I don't want to undertake a tenancy agreement….“

Mr Fernshaw waved his arm dismissively.

“Despite your assumption that the rent is high here because of the proximity to the park, our client has not raised the rents here for over ten years. The full rent will be £150 per calendar month, with the reduced rate at £100 per calendar month. Surely you must agree that it is a reasonable rent?“

He smiled at Marcy, who just stood staring at him.

“£150 per calendar month, full rent? That wouldn't get you a garden shed in some parts of the town…£150?“

“So you agree to the tenancy?“

Marcy nodded her head.

“Well yes of course, how could I refuse“

“Wonderful, here are the keys, when do you intend to move in?“

“Don't you want an advance payment, a deposit, shouldn't I sign the tenancy agreement first?“

“Details, details. As you wish, call into my office in the morning with a months rent of £100 and a deposit of £50, sign a tenancy agreement, then I shall give you the keys. Is that satisfactory?“

Marcy nodded.

“Indeed, thank you Mr Fernshaw“

“Then I shall see you in my office in the morning“