Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange

by Jenny Kane

  ‘The notebook? That was from Dylan.’

  Her fingers suddenly clumsy, Helen unpeeled the sticky tape to relieve a small jewellery box. Hesitating, she glanced at Tom.

  ‘Go on. It won’t bite.’

  Angling back the lid, Helen gasped at the delicate silver chain sat on a square of velvet. It was a pendant of a small silver trowel.

  ‘It’s beautiful. Wherever did you find it?’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. I’m just relieved you like it. I wasn’t sure, with your incredible hair colouring, if silver or gold would be best.’

  ‘I love it.’ Helen was already lifting it from the box to fasten it around her neck. ‘Thank you.’

  Tom admired how the trowel pendant sat neatly just above the dive of her cleavage. ‘Looks good. A bit too good actually, I don’t think I’d better let my eyes linger.’

  Laughing, Helen held him close. ‘I love it and I love you, but now it’s Mill Grange’s turn to be showered with attention. Ready for the chocolate onslaught?’

  ‘As I’ll ever be. Dylan has already had a visit from the Easter Bunny. It’ll be a miracle if he isn’t sick by teatime.’

  *

  Thea had lost count of how many empty tea and coffee cups she’d carried back to the kitchen. She was sure the whole of Upwich had come to see how the manor had changed since it was last opened to the public, just before Sam bought the house. When Shaun and I got together.

  As she stacked the dishwasher, Thea tried and failed to stop the next logical thought. And this time it’s when Shaun and I split up.

  She hadn’t heard from him since he returned to the dig site. Thea had lost count of the number of times she’d almost called him, almost texted, almost emailed. But as he’d walked out on her, and he hadn’t been in touch, she resisted temptation so far.

  When she wasn’t thinking about Shaun, she was worrying about what Julian might be saying to him. Had he lost his job? Would any change at Landscape Treasures mean trouble for the AA as well?

  Thea had almost called Ajay, but knowing how much he liked to gossip, she hadn’t dare.

  Glad that there was so much to do at Mill Grange, Thea checked her watch. She had ten minutes before she was due to give a tour of the house. Just time to run up to the attic and stuff a few clothes into her rucksack.

  Tomorrow she had to return to the Cotswolds, whether she wanted to or not. However things were with Shaun and Julian, she was determined to be professional and return to finish the additional filming they wanted to do over the mosaic.

  Besides, she thought as she stuffed her cosiest pyjamas into her packing, I helped to find that mosaic. I’d like to see it again.

  Flinging a pair of boots onto the bed, Thea checked the time and ran down the servant stairs, before stopping. As she paused to gather herself, she heard Dylan and Helen chatting happily about how fast the eggs were being found. Sticking on the fake smile that she seemed to have worn as a constant mask over the past few days, Thea headed to the main door, where her next group of guests would be gathering.

  Forty-nine

  Monday April 13th

  The back of the Land Rover was full of balloons. Helen hadn’t wanted to leave Mill Grange – but this time there were no tears, just a sense that she was doing the right thing, even if it had turned out to be for the wrong reasons.

  The bonfire Sam and Tina had organised for her last night, with jacket potatoes and slightly too much Prosecco, had been the perfect end to a successful day.

  The Easter egg hunt had pulled in so many people that Tina and Tom had to do an emergency run to the village shop to buy up all of their leftover eggs, and even then, all but four had been hunted down by the eager locals and passing tourists.

  As she swung out of the village, Helen allowed her mind to drift over the night with Tom. Every time they were together it was better than the time before. She couldn’t believe how her body responded to his touch, and marvelled that he found her Rubenesque curves so exhilarating.

  ‘I’m forty, but I’m not alone and I’m not lonely.’

  A cloud passed over her thoughts as she considered how Tom would cope without Dylan within hugging distance. She’d have to be there for him. ‘I will be.’

  Goodness knows how Mabel and Bert will take the news when Tom tells them.

  *

  Thea didn’t allow herself to look at the signposts stating how far she was from Stow-on-the-Wold as she drove her car along the Fosse Way. The hotel she and Shaun had stayed at before Easter could only be a few miles away, and she couldn’t prevent herself from reflecting on how different the drive from the dig to Stow had been to her return trip.

  She’d never imagined that when she went back to the Cotswolds, she’d be alone. Her palms were sweaty against the wheel, her nerves coming from thoughts about what sort of reception she and Shaun would get from their colleagues now they were separated, rather than any anxiety about appearing in front of the cameras again. Will Ajay and Andy still talk to me? After all, they’ve been Shaun’s friends for years. I’m just the girlfriend – ex girlfriend. At least, I think I am.

  Unsure if it would be easier to accept they were apart if one of them had actually said the words, or if it would have just made it worse, Thea snapped at herself, ‘We’re grownups for goodness sake, we don’t need to spell out the obvious.’

  Thea pushed her shoulders back in a way she’d seen Mabel do when she was trying not to worry about Bert. ‘Minerva, I know I neglected you while I was with Shaun, but any wisdom you could throw my way right now would be welcome.’

  Keeping her eyes on the road, looking ahead for a garden centre she was sure she remembered being along this stretch of the Fosse Way, so she could pop in and compose herself over a coffee before arriving at Birdlip, Thea tried to focus on the reason for her journey.

  *

  Tina hummed happily as she scattered some feed into the chicken run. For the first time in weeks she relaxed. The wedding plans were on schedule, and although Shaun was currently AWOL, she was sure that, whatever the situation with Thea, he wouldn’t let them down. And, if he did, Sam had assured him that Tom would step up to the role of best man, with no hard feelings about not being asked to do the job in the first place.

  She couldn’t wait to see Dylan dressed in a little suit of his own; he’d been so excited when they’d asked him if he’d like to be Shaun’s right hand man, and be in charge of the wedding rings. ‘Looks like I’ll have both bridesmaids, the best man, the ring bearer and the usher all in place after all, Gertrude.’ Tina dropped a slice of apple at her favourite hen’s feet. ‘I do wish Thea and Shaun were alright though.’

  As Gertrude gave the chicken equivalent of an unhelpful shrug, Tina laughed. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t leave them to sort things of themselves? Maybe I should give them a helping hand.’

  A blunt cluck seemed to warn Tina against interfering.

  ‘You think I should let them get on with things themselves and not interfere?’ Tina tugged at her right pigtail as she watched Betty and Mavis home in on Gertrude’s apple slice. ‘I tell you what, I’ll give them until the wedding. If they haven’t swallowed their mutual pride and come to their senses, I’ll sit them down and make them talk to each other.’

  All three hens looked at her.

  ‘You think that’s a bad idea.’ Tina wondered if they were right. Perhaps there wasn’t any going back for Thea and Shaun this time.

  *

  The campervan she’d used before was just where she’d left it. As were Shaun’s, Ajay’s, Andy’s and three others, which Thea presumed belonged to Hilda, who did their makeup and hair, and a camera and sound man. Otherwise, the field behind the pub was empty. All of Landscape Treasures regular diggers, and the local archaeology team diggers, had gone.

  Thea threw her rucksack into the camper, and turned to the pub. If she knew anything about archaeologists, that’s where they’d be if they weren’t digging. Not waiting to ask herself if she was ready to see Shaun
or not, Thea strode towards The Carthorse.

  Andy and Ajay were huddled over two pints of beer and a plate of sandwiches. There was no side of Shaun or, thankfully, Julian.

  With a deep breath she approached the table. ‘Hi, boys.’

  ‘Thea!’ Ajay stood up as she came towards them. ‘It’s great to see you.’

  There was something about his tone that made her uneasy. ‘You sound surprised to see me.’

  ‘Well, yes. I mean, after what happened…’ Ajay’s sentence petered out as he got up. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

  ‘Coffee please.’

  As Ajay left, Thea looked at Andy expectantly, ‘How do you mean, “after what happened?” What did Shaun say to make you think I wasn’t coming back to finish the job properly?’

  ‘Shaun didn’t say anything. It was Julian. He said you’d decided television wasn’t for you, so we’d be finishing up with just Shaun on camera.’

  ‘He did what?’ Thea got back to her feet, her hands suddenly shaky. ‘I said no such thing. Julian knew damn well I was coming back to finish up opening the mosaic and help with the voiceover work. He made it an order rather than a request!’

  ‘Woah!’ Andy put a hand out and gently pulled Thea back to her seat.

  ‘Where is Shaun anyway?’

  ‘In a meeting with Julian.’ Andy looked worried, as he gestured towards the function room. ‘They’ve been ages.’

  Thea went cold. ‘Do you know what they’re talking about?’

  ‘No.’ Andy’s frown deepened. ‘Don’t you?’

  Thea didn’t answer. ‘Has any of the extra filming happened with the mosaic yet?’

  ‘Not yet.’ Andy glanced up at Ajay as he placed a coffee cup before Thea. ‘The cameraman only arrived this morning. Hilda isn’t due until after lunch.’

  Torn between relief that Shaun hadn’t started without her, and guilt that she thought he might have, Thea asked, ‘When did Julian tell you I wasn’t coming back?’ And why has Shaun been here all this time? What’s he been doing?

  ‘This morning, when we got here.’ Ajay shifted in his seat. ‘He told us that you’d been offered the chance to stay but had turned it down in favour of your work at Mill Grange.’

  ‘What did Shaun say?’

  ‘Not a lot.’ The AA exchanged puzzled glances. ‘Mumbled something about it not being like you to be so unprofessional, but Julian either didn’t hear him, or didn’t want to hear him.’

  ‘The latter more likely.’ Ajay’s eyebrows knotted together. ‘We’ll know more when Shaun comes back. We’d only just arrived when Julian spirited him away.’

  They don’t know about Shaun and me.

  Sipping her coffee, Thea embraced the cup, its heat helping to ease the shake to her fingers. ‘And you’ve no idea what Julian is up to?’

  ‘Nothing beyond a suspicion that this is about Treasure Hunters going up in the world.’

  Thea took another sip of coffee while she considered if she should tell them about the overheard phone call and Julian asking her to work for him in the future. She’d just decided she should, when the door to the function room opened, and a grave-faced Shaun appeared.

  Fifty

  Monday April 13th

  Dylan stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. Tom watched as his son worked hard, trying not to colour over the lines of the picture of St George fighting the dragon, from a colouring book Helen had bought in Glastonbury.

  ‘That’s good.’ Tom sat down at the kitchen table. ‘You’ll have to show your mum when you get back.’

  ‘I’ll show Harriet too. She likes dragons.’

  ‘Does she?’ Tom wondered if Harriet knew about Dylan’s forthcoming change in circumstance. ‘You’re fond of Harriet, aren’t you?’

  ‘She’s fun. Like Helen.’

  ‘I’m glad your mum found her. You’re lucky to have a childminder you like. I remember my babysitter. She was scary.’

  Without looking up, Dylan selected a dark green pencil. ‘Did Nan and Grandad really leave you with someone scary?’

  Hearing the surprise in his son’s voice, Tom was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about it before. His parents were always going to the pub, frequently leaving him with the sharp-tongued old lady next door. ‘Things were different back then. Harriet’s a daughter of your mum’s friend though, isn’t she? So she’s bound to be nice.’

  ‘Mum’s special friend.’ Dylan swapped the dark green crayon for a bright red one to colour the plume sprouting from St George’s helmet.

  Tom’s pulse thudded as he leaned closer to Dylan. ‘Special friend? Like a best friend you mean?’

  ‘Sort of.’ Dylan added an extra stroke to the page and turned to look at his dad. ‘Can boys and girls be best friends? My friend Davy says not, but he’s a bit silly sometimes.’

  ‘Of course they can. I’m very good friends with Thea and Tina, aren’t I?’

  ‘And Helen. I think Helen is your best friend.’

  Tom ruffled his son’s hair, wishing Helen was with him now that Dylan had given him the perfect opening to share their news. But she isn’t going to be here that often. They’ll be lots of things I have to tell Dylan alone. Until he’s gone.

  ‘Yes. Helen is my best friend. You like her too, don’t you?’

  ‘She got me this.’ Dylan smoothed a hand over his work of art before choosing a grey pencil and addressing his concentration to St George’s armour.

  ‘Can you stop colouring for a minute while I tell you something?’

  Dylan paused, his pencil ready to return to work the moment his dad stopped talking. ‘You know that sometimes we have special friends. Like girlfriends and boyfriends?’

  ‘Yeahhhh.’ Dylan pulled a face. ‘They do kissing and huggy stuff.’

  Tom laughed. ‘Sometimes, but mostly they just care for each other a lot. Even more than best friends. Love each other. Like Sam and Tina.’

  ‘They’re getting married.’

  ‘Yes. Are you looking forward to it?’

  Dylan wrinkled his nose. ‘I think so.’

  Knowing it would be easy to drop the subject, Tom knew that would be the coward’s way out, so he said, ‘Well Helen is my girlfriend. Is that okay with you?’

  ‘Are you getting married then?’ Dylan asked. ‘I like Helen. I could wear my new suit again.’

  Tom scooped Dylan up and hugged him until he squirmed.

  ‘Dad!’

  ‘Sorry.’

  Dylan picked his pencil back up. ‘Can I colour in now?’

  ‘Sure.’ Tom watched. ‘So, are you okay with it, Helen being my girlfriend? She wanted to be here when we asked you, really.’

  ‘Helen has to work in Bath now. You should know that if she’s your girlfriend, Dad!’

  ‘So I should.’ Tom smiled. ‘I’m going to phone her in a minute. I’ll tell her you don’t mind.’

  Dylan kept his eyes on the pencil tracing around the outside of the armour. ‘Harriet said she’s lucky that mum and her dad are special friends, cos she gets me as a brother.’

  ‘Harriet is Nathan’s daughter?’ The words had come out of Tom’s mouth before he’d considered if Dylan knew Sue’s partner’s name.

  ‘Yes.’ Dylan’s forehead creased into two puzzled lines. ‘Didn’t Mum say?’

  ‘No. No she didn’t. How old is Harriet?’

  ‘Eighteen.’

  Tom watched his son settle back to his art. How old is this Nathan if he has an eighteen-year-old daughter? ‘If you’re okay, Dylan, I’m going to call Helen.’

  ‘Don’t forget to tell her about my suit in case you want to get married too.’

  ‘We’ve only just got together, Dylan.’

  ‘That’s a shame. Mum says I grow so fast my suit won’t fit for long.’

  *

  Thea clutched her coffee cup tighter. She wasn’t sure if she should stay sitting down or go to Shaun’s side as he emerged from his meeting with Julian.

  She cou
ld feel the AA were watching her, but her eyes stayed on Shaun as he rested against the door he’d closed behind him.

  Ajay beckoned him forward. ‘Don’t keep us in suspense!’

  ‘You look like you need this.’ Andy pointed to the pint he’d already got in for Shaun to drink. ‘Or can’t you move from the door because your guarding Julian’s brutally murdered corpse?’

  ‘In which case,’ Ajay grinned, ‘I’ll go and get a wheelbarrow and we’ll all start work on a hole to put him in.’

  Appreciating the AA’s attempt to lighten the atmosphere, Thea licked her lips. ‘Can you say what he told you, or have you been asked to keep quiet?’

  Not missing the reference to Julian having told Thea not to share what he’d told her, Shaun confirmed, ‘He said he would rather I kept quiet about our conversation.’

  ‘I bet he did.’ Ajay growled. ‘And are you going to, stay quiet, that is?’

  Shaun kept his eyes on Thea. She could see regret shining in his eyes. But is that for us or because of what Julian has just told him?

  ‘No, I’m not.’ Shaun pulled himself away from the door, glancing back over his shoulder, making sure Julian wasn’t right behind him. ‘But it has to go no further than the four of us.’ He fixed his gaze on the AA. ‘I mean that, boys. None of your tittle-tattle.’

  ‘As if we would!’ Ajay feigned hurt, but his eyes remained serious. ‘So, what’s going on?’

  Trying not to mind that Shaun hadn’t even said hello, Thea put her cup down, and plunged her hands into her pockets. Shaun would know they were shaking, but she didn’t want the AA to pick up on her anxiety as she waited for him to speak. When he did, he took her by surprise.

  ‘Julian wants to speak to you now, Thea. That’s why he hasn’t come out. He wanted me to send you in to him.’

  ‘What? How did he know I was here?’

  ‘You were due today, weren’t you? By midday. You’re never late. We knew you’d be here.’

  ‘But he told you guys I wasn’t coming back, so…’ Thea shook her head, tired of trying to work out what game Julian was playing. She looked towards the door. ‘What does he want?’