Page 57 of The Twilight Garden

‘That’s your husband, the estate agent, is it?’

‘Yes, he’s an estate agent, but… Gemma, I’m sorry if you think I’ve misled you, but I really haven’t. I…’ She trailed off, her hesitation perhaps the first sign that Ashley knew the game was up. ‘He’s here with me now, actually.’

Gemma paused for a moment, her nose burning with tears that were only seconds away from falling. ‘See, I was told today that you own a lot of properties. You, not your husband. And that your family have a lot of property around here. Is that true, Ashley?’

For a moment, Gemma wondered whether the call had been disconnected – the silence was profound and slightly hollow. She tried again. ‘Ashley?’

More silence, but eventually, a muffled noise, and the sound of distant voices again as if the phone’s microphone had been covered.

‘Gemma, I’m so sorry… I probably should have told you, but it doesn’t make any difference to anything.’

‘It does if you’re interested in the farm.’

‘What? Why would I…?’ A beat of silence. As if the penny had just dropped, or Ashley was trying to come up with another excuse. ‘Why on earth would I be interested in the farm? It’s been derelict for years, you know that, and the owner would never sell it to anyone local anyway. He’s always been a stubborn so-and-so.’

‘Yes, but he doesn’t own it now, does he? Rowan and Willow do. Perhaps they were a softer target.’

There was another long pause. Gemma thought there might be. She swiped her nose where a tear trembled, about to drop. ‘I wondered whether it’s not the farming which interests you so much, but more the size of the plot. All that land… You could build a lot of houses on that. Just one tiny problem, though. The farm might have new owners, but they’re also ones who would never sell the farm. Not to you, not unless they were desperate…’

‘Gemma, you don’t understand, it wasn’t like that and I—’ Ashley broke off to the sound of furious whispers in the background. ‘I didn’t have anything to do with the things that have happened.’

Gemma ignored her. ‘Leo even commented how interested you were in everything we’ve been doing here. I guess that made it so much easier, didn’t it? To hit Rowan and Willow where it hurt most. Just tell me one thing – how early did all this start? From the moment I first met you, with Merryn, in the tearoom? Or did it take a while for you to set your sights on us? I bet it was the first… Merryn set me up with you right from the start, didn’t she? Her comments about you designed to ensure I would feel sorry for you, to want to befriend you – the poor stay-at-home granddaughter without any friends…’

There was a noise which could have been exasperation, but just as easily amusement. It didn’t sound like Ashley though…

‘Does your husband think this is funny for some reason?’

More furious whispering. ‘No, Gemma, look, I can explain. Please…’

‘Don’t bother.’

She threw her phone on the bed, angry now. Furious that Ashley could use her the way she had; had deceived her. That her husband could even think their conversation was funny. No, it was all beginning to make sense now – how Ashley knew all their daily routines, how easily she could access the farm – she’d even told them one day how she could walk to it from across the fields, knowing that no one would even see her coming. How easy it would have been to stage the break-in of the farmhouse, to reopen the closed door of the chicken run, to damage the solar panels and then to spook the cows, having first made sure that the farm was the only place they would run to.

And it was all Gemma’s fault. It almost didn’t matter that Ashley had lied to her, had abused their friendship, used it to get close to her, or, more importantly, the farm. It only mattered what had happened. The systematic havoc that had been wreaked, the trail of destruction culminating in today’s disaster. The one which really would bring the farm to its knees…

A sob rose in her throat. Willow and Rowan had taken a huge chance on her, welcomed her into their home, and this was how she had repaid them. She lowered her head into her hands, shoulders shuddering with emotion.

She didn’t hear the knock on the door. Barely even registered it opening, but as she felt warm arms slip around her, she knew that it was Leo.

‘Gem, it’s okay. They’ll get through this, we’ll get through this. Willow and Rowan might not look like it, but they’re tough. They’re fighters. And they’re going to need your help to fight, too.’

‘No, you don’t understand,’ she said, hiccupping through her words. ‘It’s my fault. All of this. She’s been lying to me the whole time. And it should have been the garden. If anywhere was to be destroyed, it should have been there… That doesn’t matter.’

‘Don’t say that, Gem, of course it matters.’

Tears were dripping from the end of her chin. ‘No, it doesn’t. It’s just shrubs and flowers… Not like the crops. All that work… all those plants, the beans were almost—’ She stopped as the full realisation of what the damage meant hit her. ‘We’ll never be able to replace them. Willow and Rowan can’t afford to…’ She swallowed. Were they looking at the end of their dream? She buried her head against Leo’s chest and allowed him to hold her. She couldn’t bear the thought that Thistledown might cease to be.

‘It’ll be hard,’ said Leo. ‘I’m not saying it won’t, but with all of us working together, we⁠—’

‘No!’ She pulled away, staring up at him. ‘You don’t understand. None of these things have been accidents. The break-in was a deliberate attempt to ruin everything. The solar panel, all your wiring… If you hadn’t spotted the problems, think how badly it could have gone wrong. It could have cost thousands. But it wasn’t your fault; you didn’t get anything wrong. Even the henhouse door being left open. I knew you’d have shut it properly…’

‘Gemma, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What have the hens got to do with anything?’

She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. But don’t you see? We could have lost them all, they could have been killed. In fact, we’ve been lucky… Most of her attempts to scupper things never paid off, but she certainly got it right this time. She made sure this plan would work.’

Leo tried to pull her close again, making shushing noises to calm her. ‘Come on, I know you’re upset, but you’re not making any sense. Who are you even talking about?’

‘Ashley, of course,’ she replied, frustrated that he couldn’t immediately see what she had. ‘She’s been behind everything. They want the farm, Leo.’ She struggled to pull away. ‘I have to go… I have to tell them what’s been going on.’ She freed her arms and clambered off the bed.