Page 34 of The Twilight Garden

Gemma followed Willow’s pointing finger, a strange feeling burbling low in her stomach. Could Willow be right? Had the garden been waiting? Because if it had…

She had succeeded at making a decent loaf of bread, but it was still very much Rowan’s area of expertise. Likewise, Willow had a way with growing vegetables that would probably always be beyond her. But flowers… this was something she could do. And suddenly she knew exactly what the strange feeling in her stomach was. The remnants of the younger woman she used to be were beginning to stir… It was excitement, something she hadn’t felt in a long while, and she hugged it close, scared lest it slip through her fingers again.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of excited chat. Somehow the chickens got fed, the eggs got collected and a fresh loaf of bread was made. But in between these activities there was much discussion about the possibilities which lay ahead of them, including the addition of a few beehives to the farm, although not just yet, Willow confirmed.

‘I’ve thought about so many things we could do here, but never about having a proper garden,’ said Willow, heating up some soup for their lunch. ‘But only because spending time on something which wouldn’t be productive didn’t feel like the best use of our resources. Not right now. But I can see that perhaps it’s the wrong way to think about it. Of course we should have a proper garden… Having somewhere to relax, to rest and enjoy should be just as important as anything else we do here.’

Gemma nodded. ‘Wasn’t it William Morris who said “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”? Well, presumably that applies to the outside of the house as well.’

‘If it doesn’t, it should,’ added Rowan, who was laying the table.

‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could return the garden to how it used to be?’ said Gemma. ‘But that’s going to be difficult with only a couple of grainy photos to go on.’

Leo scooted Mulligan out of the way so he could sit down. ‘But surely now that we know what the house was called, we ought to be able to find out more information about it? Perhaps discover what happened to it, because it didn’t just disappear into thin air, and we could find out about the garden, too. Maybe even learn who designed it.’

Gemma nodded, trying to bite down the rising tide of impatience at her injury. ‘If Brenant’s owners were a wealthy bunch, it could even be someone of note,’ she said. ‘That would be amazing.’ But then she groaned. ‘This damned ankle, though… I want to make a start right away. How long do you think it will be before I’m back on my feet again?’

‘About that…’ Willow shot her husband a glance. ‘Rowan mentioned your idea that Ashley might like to give us a hand here, and if you haven’t already asked her, maybe she could work with you on the garden?’

‘She might. I’ll ask. And meanwhile, I can get researching and hopefully make a start on some plans. I’ve virtually nothing to go on at the moment, so even a couple more photos would be a help.’

Leo grinned. ‘Well, you know what they say – fail to prepare and you should prepare to fail.’

It was an idle quip, and judging by the look of panicked horror on his face, the words were out of his mouth before he’d had a chance to think about them, but it was too late – Gemma had heard them loud and clear. It was something her father always used to say, something she’d had drummed into her from a young age, and the reminder of all the times she had heard it in the past was stark. Coming from Leo now, when he knew better than anyone how true this was, was like a kick in the stomach, and she turned her head away.

‘I’ve got some eggs to drop down to Vicky’s at some point,’ said Willow, placing a bowl of soup in front of her. ‘I can take them after lunch if you like? Leave you and your laptop at the tearoom for a bit?’

Gemma managed a nod and murmured her thanks. It was a good thing they were about to eat because, right at that moment, conversation was totally beyond her. Leo had fallen silent too, his hands on Mulligan’s head, ruffling his fur and, just for a moment, she had an urge to wrap her arms around the dog’s soft body, to draw comfort from his warmth just as Leo did. Did it help him, she wondered? Or did he still feel just as guilty? Her throat closed over and it was all she could do to eat her soup.

‘How’s everything coming along?’ asked Vicky a little while later. ‘Are you making any headway?’ Her face was animated, her full attention fixed on Gemma’s face. She wasn’t just making polite chit-chat, she really was interested.

Gemma found herself responding in kind and beamed back a smile. ‘We are… We’ve found the house!’ She angled her laptop screen so that Vicky could see it better. ‘We still don’t know that much about it, but there was a large house on the site, complete with stables, gardens and a massive long driveway like all the best country houses have. I’m trying to find out more now because, aside from a couple of documents and a few photos, we really don’t know anything at all. We’re pretty convinced we’ve got the right place though.’

‘And what’s it called, this mystery house?’

‘Brenant,’ replied Gemma.

‘Nothing at all like Thistledown then? I have to say I much prefer the new name.’

Gemma nodded. ‘Me too. We’ve no idea when that came into being, or when the original house became no more because there’s certainly no trace of it now. We can tell where it would have stood, and the tumbledown farmhouse which is there now seems to have been built in part of its footprint, but, aside from that, nothing much else remains.’

‘So what will you do when you’ve found out more? I can’t see Willow and Rowan being in the market for rebuilding an enormous house.’

Gemma laughed. ‘No, nor me. But the gardens are a different matter. Unwittingly, Willow has already created her kitchen garden in almost exactly the same position as it would have been originally, but the garden I found would have been a pleasure garden, and that is something we can restore. Well, that’s the plan.’

The tearoom door tinkled and Vicky looked away for a moment. ‘Keep me posted,’ she said, moving away to serve another customer. ‘I’ll bring you a cuppa and a piece of cake in a minute. You’ve got to keep your strength up.’

Gemma was ready for both. Thankfully, neither Willow nor Rowan had seemed to notice that she and Leo had finished the rest of their lunch in virtual silence, but the atmosphere had hung heavy between them, and Gemma had been glad to escape the house. The morning had been filled with such excitement, along with a feeling of common purpose which Gemma had enjoyed. It had been a long time since she’d had anything in her life to feel a part of, but that feeling had soured and she had been struggling to find her previous enthusiasm. Now, however, she was itching to get started again, but there was one other thing she needed to do first.

Morning Cat, she typed.

So how’s the world of advertising treating you today? And how is Shiny Rachel – has her halo slipped at all?

It seems that knackering my ankle has caused something of a chain reaction. Because while I was laid up I set about researching the history of the farm and discovered that there was once a very grand house on the site. And not just that, a very grand garden, too, and guess who’s going to restore it?! (The garden not the house, obviously ) Think Gertrude Jekyll, Capability Brown… all the famous designers. Possibly not, but you get the idea.

I’ve got masses of research to do before I can make a start though, because we want it to be as authentic as possible. Then, just as soon as my ankle lets me, I’ll be clearing a couple of hundred years’ worth of rubbish and, I expect, undertaking a considerable amount of digging!

Let me know all the gossip, won’t you?