The Roomer

By Herbert Howard Jones

Heather Mondan was by all accounts a sensible young woman who was employed as the junior librarian at a local college. However, the job meant she had to move into new accommodation, and luckily found a small flat in a large house but needed to sublet in order to pay the rent. It was all perfectly fine with the landlord, and a student at college called Janice, who needed a place to stay eagerly took up the spare room.

The room was formally a parlour, and was right next to Heather’s bit of the house. But the enterprising landlord put a bed and tv in it to squeeze a few more pounds out of the situation. The landlord was also very security conscious, a sentiment shared by Heather who made sure her new tenant got the message too. Locking doors, windows and gates was crucial when going out or coming in. Opportunistic burglars were always on the lookout for an open window or a front or back door on a jar.

But not all young students with their heads into their studies and boyfriends are always mindful of such prosaic things. Janice, who now occupied the parlour was just a tad bit careless if not outright thoughtless. In fact, it was a cause for concern for Heather whose sense of home security and peace of mind was compromised by her tenant’s slightly irresponsible behaviour.

Janice would come in at funny hours, she wouldn’t always lock the doors, she was messy, she would come home drunk, and she wasn’t above being outspoken, if not rude. She was not the dream tenant by any means. However, bit by bit she was yielding to Heather's demands.

By contrast, for Heather at work, there was the sudden and unexpected promise of romance which surprised her. Indeed, she couldn’t wait to tell her mother about it. For a moment, life was looking good. To Heather it seemed that things could work out and get ironed out. She was optimistic. But then, typically for her, the past had to rear its ugly head again and get in the way of a normal life. That unfortunate seed in Heather’s soul began to sprout once more and there was no telling what was going to happen next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Herbert Howard Jones
• Release date: May 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005995096

Herbert Howard Jones

HERBERT HOWARD JONES grew up in Notting Hill, London in the sixties. He went to a boarding school in Norfolk and then local schools including Sloane School where crime writer John Creasy attended near the King's Road. When he left school he got numerous jobs, including as a porter at the BBC London, working as a jewellery assembler in a factory in Hatton Garden and also in a number of roles at a showbiz solicitor's office where he was a trainee legal executive and ran errands for a few of the British movie and music names of the time.He is a creative spirit who also likes dabbling in music and art himself. When he was in the jewellery business he personally made over ten thousand 14 carat gold gate bracelets which was a great learning experience for him. However, he was more interested in media and always wanted to write suspense books with a melodramatic element and so spent years reading them and working on various projects. He is also interested in romantic and fantasy fiction.But meeting people has always inspired him the most and he has had the good fortune to meet quite a few interesting people. He was personally friends with horror writer, Denis Wheatley's housekeeper when she lived in Blackheath, and knew poet John Pudney who lived nearby before he passed. One of the most interesting people that he met was the daughter of the Captain of the Titanic with whom he had tea in her cottage up in Suffolk. Miss Smith was a lady with a big personality and a very interesting home. She was surrounded with Titanic memorabilia wherever you looked. Jones was only a boy at the time and didn't appreciate the significance of all this stuff, but regrets not quizzing her on the catastrophic event which has forever featured large in shipping folklore!PERSONAL MESSAGE:I WANT TO EXPRESS my gratitude to readers who have bothered to download my books. I put a lot of effort into them and also design my own covers, and so it is a wonderful reward to get a download. Every author on this platform will be grateful for them because writing can be a lonely and thankless task. It is only the reader who makes it all worth while, and so thanks very much again.HHJ

Book preview

The Roomer

Herbert Howard Jones

Copyright © Herbert Howard Jones 2021

The right of Herbert Howard Jones to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

This is a work of fiction. Opinions expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect the author’s own views.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Cover design by Herbert Howard Jones

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter One

The day was a dull one without the promise of better weather but at least the house looked nice. Heather had walked up from the local station and was glad she had located the property so easily as she was terrible at finding places. Thank goodness for mobile apps, she said to herself.

She had to knock on the front door twice before a friendly-looking white haired old man in a light brown cardigan opened it and smiled. ‘You’ve come to see the dump, have you?’ he said irreverently. Then he laughed. ‘Just kidding!’

‘Um, yes, I phoned yesterday to arrange a viewing, I’m Heather Mondan,’ she said brushing her long fair hair out of her eyes. ‘And you’re Mr Fielding, the landlord?’

‘I am, come in,’ he replied stepping back from the door. ‘The room’s at the back of the house, but you’ve also got easy access through the rear gate and the yard. Come through!’

‘Thank you,’ Heather said trying to quickly decide if she liked her new landlord or not. He had a funny musty smell about him. ‘I can produce the references you asked for in a few days,’ she said.

‘Lovely,’ he replied as he closed the front door and led her through a cold dark passage to another door which was already partially open. ‘Eh, viola, the flat complete with lounge, bedroom, galley kitchen and its own gas and electric meters! You’ll have to put pound coins in, I’m afraid. The bathroom and toilet are communal and are on the first floor.’

Heather stepped over the threshold and gazed around. The first room, the lounge, was very comfortably furnished if not a bit chilly. ‘Are there any other tenants in this building?’

‘Yes, indeed but they’re very quiet,’ Mr Fielding said pointing his finger at the ceiling. ‘Sensible and polite people, like me!’

‘Is there heating?’ she asked.

‘Of course, convectors in every room.’

Heather nodded. ‘Any restrictions about going out at night?’

‘None at all,’ he replied. ‘The keys to this flat and the front door are on top of the fridge in your kitchen. Have a look around please.’

Heather smiled and was amazed at how ergonomic the flat was. It just needed to be warmed up a bit. She wandered over to the large windows and looked out. The views on both side of the flat were very acceptable. She noted a little passage at the side of the house leading to the yard, she presumed.

She went into the galley kitchen which was very neat and had everything she might need including a washing machine and small tumble dryer. However, it did appear that the old fashioned nature of the appliances meant that she would probably have to keep feeding the meters.

‘Ah, a percolator!’ she observed with a smile spotting one on the worktop.

Mr Fielding nodded. ‘Yes, all the mod cons here!’

Heather pulled an approving face.

‘And there’s a bonus,’ the landlord said opening another door. ‘You can lock this door obviously, but it leads to a communal area which anyone can use. It gives you another view of the yard. We call it the parlour. It will give you a chance to chat to other tenants if you ever