Page 31 of The Twilight Garden

Gemma nodded, although the thought terrified her.

‘I’m not sure how long we’ll be either,’ said Rowan. ‘So don’t worry if we’re not back until quite late.’

Five minutes later they were gone, leaving Gemma and Leo alone in the house, and the thought of having to make conversation for hours didn’t exactly fill her with glee. The need to apologise was weighing heavy though, so perhaps it was better to get that over with. Then she could keep her distance more comfortably; polite but detached.

She waited until the sink was full of soapy water and they were standing side by side.

‘I wanted to say sorry,’ she began. ‘For how I spoke to you the other day.’ She looked down at the dishcloth in her hand. ‘I said you made me feel childish, but even if that was the case, I didn’t need to act like it. That was my choice, and I chose badly. We’re both adults, and I’d like to think that I’ve become a little wiser in the twenty or so years since we were married.’

‘Me too. But my head doesn’t always cooperate and then my mouth confirms the sad truth. I was insensitive, and defensive. I should have realised that recent events weren’t ones you wanted to talk about.’

‘And I overreacted when you were just trying to be kind.’

He took a dripping plate from her and began to dry it. ‘I am sorry, though. The last few months must have been incredibly tough for you, and whatever the reasons that brought you to the farm, I hope you find what you need here. It’s a good place, and Rowan and Willow are good people.’

She scrubbed at a stubborn spot on a bowl, unaccountably close to tears. She didn’t want to be angry with Leo all the time, but it was equally hard to handle him being nice, for some reason. ‘I feel like a spare part,’ she said, trying to move the conversation along. ‘I’m pretty sure they were desperate for help. No rational person would have taken on someone who had no experience and who, by their own admission, had applied for the job pretty much on a whim.’

‘And yet I’ve never found their decision-making to be flawed in any way.’ He paused, and she could feel his look burning into the side of her face. She kept her stance resolutely forward. ‘Perhaps you just have to trust the process.’

She frowned. What on earth did that mean?

‘Besides, you’ve been here less than a week, Gemma. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I know you feel you haven’t made a good start because of your ankle but it’s getting better day by day, and in a month’s time, you probably won’t even remember it was ever a problem. You’ll soon get into the rhythm of things.’

She stared out of the window, knowing what he said was true but still unable to acknowledge that it would happen.

‘Goodness, is that fog?’ she said, peering at the escarpment of trees outside, which were rapidly disappearing from view.

Leo glanced up. ‘I expect so. It comes in off the river, and on a day like today with so much rain, it gets trapped in the valley.’

‘I didn’t know there was a river down there,’ said Gemma. She handed him another plate. ‘Why the look? What have I said now?’

‘Nothing.’ But the edges of his mouth pulled upward. ‘What else did you think was down there? The clue is in the word valley, or nant as they say in the traditional Cornish.’ His smile became broader. ‘In fairness, the river is kind of tucked in, and you can’t actually see it through the tree line from here.’

‘Clever clogs. Which river is it then?’

‘The Fowey. Only in its infancy here, of course.’

Gemma stared at him, trying to pull a memory from the dark recesses of her mind. Something Leo had just said… Not about the river, but something else… And then it suddenly came to her. The Cornish word for a valley – nant – and the name of the house Ashley had found – Brenant.

‘We found some household accounts today on the county archive site, from a large house in this area. It was called Brenant, and it’s a bit of a long shot, but would it be feasible for a house with that name to lie somewhere along this valley?’

‘It would, but…’ He pressed a finger to his lips. ‘The first part of the name “Bre” just means hill, so that doesn’t give us any more clues, and it’s a little obvious.’ His lips twitched. ‘If there’s a valley, logically there must also be a hill.’

‘So literally Hill Valley House,’ said Gemma.

Leo shrugged. ‘Most house names aren’t overly descriptive,’ he replied. ‘Take Holly Cottage or Field View… They could be anywhere. But I wonder…’ He dropped the tea towel he was holding onto the table and opened the kitchen door.

Gemma joined him on the threshold, peering through the gloom into the evening sky.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘Were there any maps of the house you found? Anything that might show its location?’

‘I don’t know. It was Ashley who found it, so I didn’t see all the documents. There were photos… the accounts I mentioned, and I think some sort of inventory because game was mentioned, and fish… from the river.’ Her eyes widened. ‘It can’t be the same place, can it?’

Gemma threw her dishcloth into the sink, snatching up a towel to dry her hands. ‘Let me get my laptop,’ she said, crossing to the row of hooks where she had hung her bag earlier.

Leo cleared a space on the table as she laid it down.