Page 35 of The Twilight Garden

Much love xx

Without pausing, Gemma opened an internet tab and typed into the search bar. Now that she had a name – Brenant House – she hoped the hunt for information would be very much easier.

What came back was not exactly plentiful but certainly more than her search for Thistledown had elicited. She looked at the photos first. At the top, not surprisingly, were the pictures she’d already seen – the ones from the county archive – but further down were a few more and she clicked on these to see the detail.

Only two were actually from her Brenant House; the others related either to houses with similar names, or in one case what appeared to be a firm of solicitors miles away. Still, that was two more images than she’d had previously, and one showed far more detail than the others.

Her laptop pinged with an incoming email.

Jesus, Gemma, can’t you complain or something? You’re a highly intelligent, very highly qualified and very talented creative director, not a common-or-garden navvy! (No pun intended.)

And what has happened to Leo? You didn’t mention him… Has he been told where to go in no uncertain terms? I do hope so.

I am still very much on the ‘knocking Shiny Rachel’s halo off’ case but these things take time. Hold on, dear friend, I shall come to your rescue soon!

Gemma frowned. Cat had obviously misunderstood her last message.

Thanks, Cat! What would I do without you? But actually, this is a good thing – it’s really quite exciting, and I think I might finally have found something here I’m good at. And I’m not going to be doing it all by myself – a woman I’ve met is going to help, and I’m sure everyone else will pitch in too. It is going to be hard work, but my waistline will probably thank me in the long run. I am seriously unfit!

As for Leo, he’s still here, but apart from the odd foot-in-mouth remark which seems to embarrass him as much as it does me, he’s being pretty well behaved.

Plenty of time for that to change, so keep up the good work with Shiny Rachel – a swift exit may yet be required!

Lots of love xx

Navigating away from the photos, Gemma checked the other search results for Brenant House. They were mostly misspellings, or related to the wrong time or the wrong place, but tucked away at the bottom of the sixth page, she found something which piqued her interest. She began to read, edging further forward on her seat as she did so.

‘Vicky, is there anywhere in the village I can get something printed? And possibly some photocopies made, too?’

‘No, I’m sorry, love,’ she replied, coming back to Gemma’s table. ‘You used to be able to do that kind of thing at the post office but they took it all out to put in a new freezer. I don’t know of anywhere else… other than the library, but that’s in town.’

‘Well it might have to be there then, but thanks anyway. There’s a book I’ve found mention of, so it might be good to see if they either have it or could get it for me.’

The rabbit hole Gemma had fallen down kept her busy for another hour and a half but at the end of that time, she was really no further forward than she had been in the first ten minutes of reading. Still, she had the title of a book now which could provide some very useful information, and a few more pieces of the puzzle. She fired off a quick text to Willow and began to pack up her things. There was one more thing she wanted to do before returning to the farm.

It wasn’t far to Ashley’s house but, even so, she was grateful to reach the door. How on earth was she going to manage restoring an entire garden when she couldn’t even walk two hundred metres without her ankle complaining?

Her knock at the front door barely raised a sound, but then the wood was so thick it was hardly surprising. The doorbell didn’t seem to work either, and she felt her spirits deflate with disappointment. She had assumed Ashley would be at home, and even though she tried both the door and the bell again, no answer was forthcoming.

Admittedly she hadn’t let Ashley know she was coming, but now that she was here, she hated the thought of having to leave without speaking to her. Apart from wanting to share the excitement of their find, she was banking on Ashley agreeing to come and help out. Perhaps she might have better luck using the back door.

She peered cautiously around the side of the house and began to make her way down the path towards the back gate.

She’d only got half of the way when the sound of voices cut through the air. Voices which, although muffled, were clearly angry and coming from a small window on the side of the house.

‘We’ve had enough excuses now. The money needs to be in our account by close of play tomorrow.’

Gemma paused, unsure what to do. She didn’t want to interrupt, but one of the voices she’d heard definitely belonged to Ashley and at least it proved she was at home. She doubled back to the front door, surprised when it was suddenly snatched open.

Gemma smiled. ‘Hi… Sorry, have I come at a bad time?’

‘No, not at all. I was just…’ Looking startled, Ashley trailed off, finishing with a smile but not elaborating. ‘Is everything okay?’ she asked, but then her hand suddenly flew to her mouth. ‘Oh God, we weren’t supposed to be meeting today, were we?’

Gemma shook her head. ‘No, don’t worry, I just called by on the off-chance you were in. I probably should have messaged first.’

‘No, that’s okay. Come on in.’

Gemma stepped into the wide hallway. ‘Are you sure I’m not interrupting anything? I thought I heard voices.’