Page 56 of The Twilight Garden

‘I’m so sorry,’ she murmured, over and over. She could think of nothing else to say.

She had no idea how long they stayed locked together. How long before the first words were spoken and the words became sentences, became a conversation. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours, but it was as if they were rousing themselves from a deep sleep. She remembered the feeling from the day her dad died. When Leo, broken himself, had broken the news to them of his death, and it had seemed as if he was speaking from a great distance, the sound of his voice reaching them but its meaning taking seconds longer to register.

‘Let’s go back to the house,’ said Leo gently. ‘We need some time and some space to process all this. There’s nothing to be achieved by standing and looking at it.’

Rowan nodded, firmly, grateful for a course of action, for anything that would get them out of the ruin. They hurried away, not looking back.

Inside the house, all was just as it always was – calm and tidy, its uncluttered and airy rooms providing space to breathe and think and… a refuge, Gemma realised as she stepped into the kitchen, the place she now thought of as home. The place where she felt able to make sense of her life. But the house had a very tall order on its hands if it was going to make a difference today.

Leo automatically took down mugs from a cupboard and filled the kettle with water. He found biscuits in the tin, and pulled out chairs for them to sit at the table, where they sank, relieved to have the feeling of something solid beneath them. Only when they had tea in front of them did anyone feel able to speak, and it was Willow who broke the silence.

‘Maybe we’re not meant to be here,’ she said. ‘First the break-in, and now this. We’ve only just got back on our feet.’

‘Don’t say that,’ urged Gemma. ‘I don’t think there’s anyone more meant to be here. I know it looks bad, but there’ll be a way through this, I know there will.’

Willow gave a weak smile. ‘I wish I had your optimism. I’m afraid mine has all but deserted me.’

Gemma shook her head. ‘It isn’t optimism. It’s knowing when something is right. I feel it, and I know you two do.’

‘Whether we feel it or not, it doesn’t change what’s happened,’ said Rowan. ‘Or the fact that it shouldn’t have. I’ve been working on the fences for months, and admittedly they were in very poor condition before I started, but the section where the cows broke through has already been repaired. I don’t understand how it could have happened, and the cows aren’t usually in the field directly behind ours anyway. They shouldn’t have got in.’

‘Maybe something spooked them,’ said Leo. ‘Herd mentality – once one panics the whole lot goes.’ He swallowed a mouthful of tea, a grim expression on his face. ‘What did the farmer have to say for himself?’

‘Not much. He’s just as angry as we are… and worried about his livestock. He claims the gate and fencing was broken, although he can’t explain how, but the cows did a fair amount of damage at his end too.’

‘Well, if he’s responsible, he’ll have to pay for it.’

Willow and Rowan exchanged looks. ‘I’m not sure it’s that simple,’ said Rowan. ‘And I doubt he can afford it either. He’s got all his own fencing to mend, never mind anything else.’

‘That’s hardly the point.’

‘It is though,’ said Rowan, with just enough finality in his voice that Leo sat back in his chair.

Gemma clutched her mug, listening to the exchanges around her, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She was running through the events of the day in her head, because something wasn’t right. It had been tugging at her intermittently ever since she’d left the library and she⁠—

Edging her chair away from the table, she got to her feet and quietly left the room.

In the house at least, there were only a couple of places where she could get a reliable phone signal, and one of these was her bedroom. She dialled a number and waited.

‘Hi Gemma, how are you?’

‘Not too good, I’m afraid,’ she replied. ‘There’s been an incident at the farm and we’re struggling to get our heads around it.’

‘My God, is everyone okay?’

‘Yes, yes, we’re all fine, it was nothing like that. No one’s hurt, it wasn’t an accident…’ Her voice sounded hollow even to her. ‘In fact, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident at all.’

‘Not an accident? You mean more vandalism…? Gemma, that’s awful. Was there a lot of damage?’

Gemma’s heart sank even further. She hadn’t expected a confession, but this sham of a reply was almost worse, feigning sympathy and concern when— And she had thought Ashley was her friend. She swallowed down her hurt, determined to get to the bottom of it all. ‘Why did you lie to me, Ashley?’ Her voice was tiny, barely there.

‘I’m sorry, what…? Lie to you? When did I lie to you?’ Ashley sounded shocked, but then she was good at that.

‘When you told me that you’d never worked. And don’t have a job now. When you said you weren’t qualified for anything, and yet you certainly know your way around printers and scanners. I’m beginning to wonder if you have an office at home. Because that would make perfect sense if you’re running a rental business.’

There was a noise in the background – something Gemma couldn’t make out but which sounded like voices.

‘But I told you, that’s my husband’s. And yeah, I do know my way around basic office equipment, but only because I help him out from time to time. I’m his wife – it’s just what happens when you run your own business.’