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“You heard her,” Russell says.
In that moment, I forgive Russell for his lingering coldness toward me.
Zane steps aside with sparks flashing from his eyes.
“Shall I show you the garden?” I don’t wait for the baffled landscaper’s reply. I shove him out of the door, eager to escape the tension in the house.
He scratches the back of his neck and takes in the well-maintained garden. “What exactly is it you want?”
“We have a colony of bats.”
“I’m aware. My friend installed the boxes. I’m still not sure why you think you need me.”
“They’ll need an ecosystem to survive.”
He looks at me with surprise. “In the long term, yes.”
“That’s why you’re here. I want you to turn the garden into an ecosystem.”
“Whoa. That’s going to cost a small fortune.”
“Does it look like I can’t afford it?” Technically, Damian’s money will pay for it. I don’t like it, but I don’t have a choice. Some of those ill-accumulated funds may as well be put to good use.
The landscaper’s gaze flitters to the house and back to me. I know what he sees—huge mansion, expensive cars, personal guards.
“Before you get too excited,” I say, “I’ll need a quote.” I don’t say my husband will have to approve it. Hasn’t Damian just told me I only have to ask?
“Right.” He turns in a full circle, taking in the vast, green lawn that stretches to the fences in the distance. “That goes without saying.”
“Good. When can I have it?”
He chuckles. “You don’t beat around the bush.”
I’m aware of Russell’s eyes burning on me when I say, “Life’s too short.”
“If you want a self-sustained environment, the non-indigenous shrubs and ornamental trees will have to be replaced with Highveld grass and a rock garden.”
“I assumed as much.”
“It’ll be green in summer, but dry in winter.”
“I know.”
“I’m just saying you won’t always have a green garden.”
“As you said, that goes without saying.”
“Okay, then. Let’s take the tour.”
We walk around the property with him naming plants and me nodding. If he finds it odd that Russell follows, he doesn’t say anything.
After the full tour and having taken notes on his smartphone, he leaves with a promise to have a proposal and quotation in a week’s time. It’s fast for the amount of work involved, but money always gets you to the top of the priority list. The project is big enough to guarantee a huge profit.
It’s afternoon when I venture back into the garden to take pictures with my phone for the visual board I’m planning. Despite my situation, I’m becoming excited about the project. I’ve even told Russell, who tags along, a little about it. I’m next to the rose garden when Zane intercepts us.
Propping his hands on his hips, he blocks my path. “What was the meeting this morning about?”
“Nothing that concerns you.”
He presses a thumb on his breastbone. “I run these grounds.”
“Less work for you then, I guess.”
“Spit it out, Lina. Now.”
“It’s Mrs. Hart,” Russell says, “and you’re in her way.”
Zane turns to Russell. “What did you say to me?”
Zane is a big, muscled man. A hunch tells me he knows how to fight dirty. I don’t want a fight between Russell and Zane because of me. From the corner of my eye, I see Andries pausing with his foot on the garden fork where he’s overturning the soil to glare at us.
“It’s all right, Russell,” I say.
Russell is only doing his job, which I assume is protecting as well as guarding me from running away, but Zane won’t see it like this. Zane will hate me more for what he’ll perceive as Russell’s loyalty.
“What are you hiding?” Zane asks. “Why the secret meeting?”
I keep my voice placating. “It was hardly secret.”
The reason I don’t want Zane to know until I’ve already convinced Damian is because he’ll oppose anything I suggest out of principle.
Andries shuffles closer, the fork clutched in his hand. “Then you won’t mind telling us.”
I sigh. It looks as if I have more than just Damian to convince. “There are bats on the property.”
“I’ll take care of them,” the old man says. “Burn the nest.”
“No,” I cry in horror. “They’re protected.”
Zane gives me a suspicious look. “Is that why the man was here? To rehabilitate them?”
“There are also owls and hawks close-by.”
“I’ve spotted some owls on the east side of the property,” Russell says.
“Get to the point,” the old man says with a scowl.
“I want to give them back their natural habitat.”
Zane stares at me as if I deserve my crazy label. “What?”
“I want to convert the garden into a self-sustained ecosystem.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Zane exclaims.
“Why? A natural garden can also be pretty.”
“I have quotes for a new fucking irrigation system,” Zane hisses, “and this is what you do? Sneak behind my back with your animal activist ideas?”
“It’s not an animal activist idea.”
Russell raises his hand in warning. “Calm down and watch your mouth, Zane.”
