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“What?” Gabriel stared at her. “But I don’t need help. More to the point, I don’t want help. I like being out here on my own.”
“He wouldn’t be here all the time.”
An unexpected rage took hold of him. How had she not understood that the walled garden was his refuge, his sanctuary? “I don’t want him here at all!”
He waited for Iris to back down, to say that she would tell Esme they didn’t need Joseph after all.
“Well, I’m sorry,” she said stiffly. “It’s done now. He starts tomorrow.”
“No.” He shook his head stubbornly. “There are plenty of people in the village who need a gardener. Joseph can go and work for them.”
“I thought you’d be pleased. I thought you could do with a bit of male company.”
“Or maybe you just wanted me to be stuck with someone because you’re stuck with Laure,” he hit back.
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”
Knowing that she was right, he pulled her toward him. “Sorry, sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.” She remained rigid in his arms and he knew that he would have to give way, not just because going back to Esme would put Iris in a difficult position, but also because he owed her. He owed her for everything he’d put her through since he’d found Charlie in the quarry. “All right,” he said, trying not to sound too grudging. “Joseph can come.”
18
Joseph peered over Iris’s shoulder at her designs for the walled garden, spread out on the kitchen table.
“These are really good, Iris,” he said.
Her cheeks flushed at the warmth in his voice. “Thank you.”
He moved to the table and leaned on his forearms, burnished a deep copper by his outdoor work, to take a closer look.
“I love what you’ve done here,” he said, pointing to the area she’d earmarked for a lily pond. “It’s a really unusual feature.”
Iris had worked on her ideas for the garden all day yesterday, most of the time with Laure looking over her shoulder. If she hadn’t decided to go for a walk, she’d be peering over her shoulder now.
“What do you think about the stream running through it?” Iris asked Joseph. “Would it be possible?”
He tipped his head to one side. “I don’t see why not, as long as we can use the water from the underground well Gabriel mentioned. It’s a great idea, much better than the fountain we originally spoke about.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
Joseph straightened up. “I do, very much. I can’t tell you how muchI’m looking forward to working here.” He nodded toward her designs. “Can I take these with me? I’d like to study them more closely.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. See you later, Iris.”
Iris watched him walk down the path, the guilt she felt for bringing him here still with her. It had come from a good place; she’d honestly thought Gabriel would appreciate the help, given that he wanted the garden finished by the time Beth came back in August. It was why she’d made some sketches of how she thought the garden could look. She was glad that Joseph had seemed to like them, but maybe she should have run them by Gabriel first. She sighed. Another thing to feel guilty about.
“I’m back!” Laure’s voice was followed by the slam of the front door. Iris automatically reached for a bottle of water and poured herself a glass, mentally preparing herself for what Laure was about to tell her. She knew Laure’s moods so well now she could tell from her voice that she was excited about something.
Laure appeared in the doorway wearing the pretty blue dress she’d bought when they’d gone shopping. Iris stared at her; Laure had her hair cut into a shoulder-length bob identical to hers.
“You’ve cut your hair,” she said.
“Yes.” Laure gave her a twirl. “Do you like it?”
Iris tried to smile. “Given that it’s the same style as mine, yes I do.”
“I felt I needed a change. And guess what—I just got a message from Pierre. He said he doesn’t want to lose me and has asked me to meet him at the apartment on Saturday.” She flung herself into a chair. “I knew I did the right thing not going back to Paris last weekend.”
