Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange

by Jenny Kane

  ‘Which is just as well. All that extra training Thea and Shaun did would have been wasted if any Tom, Dick or Sam could spot the difference.’ Tina smiled. ‘Thea did archaeology because she’d been burning to do it all her life. It was her passion from a young age. I did it because I wanted a degree, but I didn’t know which one to choose. Archaeology is a good one to pick in those circumstances. You get to learn computing, surveying, excavating, history, geology, architecture, construction techniques, how to excavate and field walk and how to develop patience. Lots of patience.’

  Sam tucked his ponytail into the back of his jumper. ‘Can I ask a rookie question?’

  ‘Go for it.’

  ‘What does geophysics actually do?’

  ‘Sorry, I thought you knew from watching the show.’

  ‘Television doesn’t play a big part in my life.’

  ‘Of course, I didn’t think.’ Tina continued awkwardly, ‘It’s a special underground survey using radio waves, so you can see anything that’s buried without actually having to dig. The boys will put all the data into a computer to create a plan of what’s underneath the garden.’

  ‘And from that, Thea and Shaun will work out what the shapes revealed could once have been?’

  ‘Yep. Sometimes it’s obvious, especially if it’s a rectangular villa or something. Other times, it’s very much harder. Just random marks in the soil. This will be tricky I suspect, as only a tiny fraction of ground has been surveyed and the ground has been reworked in different ways in the past.’

  ‘But we could see something amazing.’ Sam was suddenly serious. ‘You get to be outside a lot, don’t you? As an archaeologist I mean.’

  ‘Yes, although the lion’s share of time is spent writing and analysing data.’

  ‘Could you do that outside?’

  Tina tilted her head to one side in a gesture not unlike Gertrude’s when she was sizing up the competition for Tony Stark’s affections. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re thinking about training to be an archaeologist?’

  ‘It’s always fascinated me, although I’m not sure I’d be any good at it.’

  ‘I could help.’ Tina slipped an arm through his as they left the chickens to their own devices and headed towards Sam’s tent. ‘I’m not as skilled as the others, but I know the ropes. And it’s not hard to get a job on a dig. Learning via experience is the best way.’

  Sam pulled her closer as they walked along. ‘I think I’d like that.’

  ‘I should tell you that the pay varies from lousy to non-existent. Most new diggers are volunteers.’

  ‘Work experience is always badly paid, or not paid at all, whatever you do.’

  ‘That’s true.’ Tina felt a tug at her heart. ‘Will you ask Shaun for a place on his team?’

  ‘I don’t think he’d want a complete rookie, not when the telly cameras are all over the place. I’d be too afraid of messing up. Anyway—’ he lifted up Tina’s chin and stared into her eyes ‘—I don’t want to leave Exmoor now I’ve found you.’

  The level of relief Tina felt took her by surprise. ‘I’m so glad you said that,’ she said, kissing him before pulling away, ‘but no way am I going to stop you if you need to go away to train. This could be the perfect job for your rehabilitation.’

  Hugging her close, Sam felt tears prickle in his eyes that he badly didn’t want to shed. ‘I contemplated being a gardener. I know a lot about plants and stuff because my grandfather was a gardener, but although it’s outside whatever the weather, there’s no real challenge to it. No surprises.’

  ‘Is that why you didn’t want the greenhouse to come down? You could picture it as if your granddad might have got it.’

  ‘That and the fact it’s stunning. All those tiny panes of glass.’

  ‘Well, let’s hope the new owner feels the same.’

  *

  Thea’s room was as tidy as it could be. She went into Shaun’s bedroom and retrieved her toothbrush and the few other bits she’d left there. Hoping he wouldn’t be offended that she wanted to spend the last night alone, she found herself making his bed and tidying up his pile of jumpers. They smelt of wool, deodorant and Shaun.

  Inhaling his scent, she stroked the pillows on the bed and pulled up the linen. She was almost at the door again, when Thea doubled back. Taking a piece of paper from her pad, she sat down and started to write.

  *

  ‘Any word from Shaun?’

  Sam called into the manor from the back doorstep as he saw Thea walking in his direction.

  ‘Not yet,’ said Thea, who was carrying a fold-up chair under each arm. ‘Just let me dump these in the laundry so Diane has something to sit on when she’s giving tours downstairs. Then we’ll go to Moira’s. Tina around?’

  ‘In the scullery, disconnecting the computers.’

  Thea failed to keep defeat from her voice. ‘It feels like we’re stripping ourselves from the place, doesn’t it?’

  ‘A bit.’ Sam hovered at the threshold, his feet butting up to the point that could take him inside, but not crossing it. ‘What will you do next?’

  ‘Shaun has offered me a place on his team. Off camera. I hope.’

  ‘That’s fantastic, but why off camera? I imagined he’d want you on camera. You’re very photogenic and highly knowledgeable.’

  Thea felt her habitual pinking starting in the face of a compliment. ‘I don’t really want to be on screen. Look what happened last time.’

  ‘John’s gone. I don’t think he’ll be back.’

  Thea pushed back her shoulders. ‘I’m sure you’re right. I’ll round up Tina and we’ll see you outside the pub.’

  *

  ‘The idea keeps going around and round in my head, but I can’t bring myself to do it.’

  Thea had explained her thought that, if the new owner discovered about the possible Roman remains, they might pull out of the sale, and then Mill Grange wouldn’t be sold.

  ‘Of course you couldn’t. You’re a nice person.’ Tina hesitated. ‘It’s a good idea though. Isn’t having scruples a pain?’

  ‘John wouldn’t have hesitated. He’d have seen leaking the news as heroic and a way to prove he loved me.’

  ‘Which is another reason for us not to do it.’ Tina hooked her bag higher up her shoulder as they walked towards the village. ‘Anything John Sommers might do, I don’t want any part of.’

  Thea sped up her footsteps. ‘I can’t wait to find out what Ajay and Andy have discovered. If they’ve discovered anything, that is.’

  *

  Shaun, Ajay, Andy and Sam were in Moira’s back garden, huddled around a laptop perched on a patio table. Just one glance at Shaun’s face told Thea they’d found something.

  ‘Tell me?’ She sat next to Shaun as Ajay swivelled the laptop into the best position for everyone to see.

  ‘This here—’ he pointed to a grainy picture that appeared to be a lot of different grey dots ‘—is the area we surveyed. As you can see it is out of focus at this range. We can only get it all on the screen at this distance, even though it was only a tiny area. Once we’ve had a bit more time, we can compress it and—’

  Tina interrupted, ‘Can you just tell us what we’re looking at?’

  Relieved that her friend had got straight to the point, Thea leant forward, as if being closer to the evidence would speed up the results.

  Ajay grinned. ‘No problem.’

  Pressing a few buttons, he started a mini film show which slowly increased the resolution of the picture on the page. Shaun gripped Thea’s hand as they watched. No one dared speak as they watched the dots forming into a defined and unmistakable right angle.

  ‘A wall? The corner of a wall?’ Sam looked hopefully at the archaeologists.

  Thea’s gaze remained on the screen. ‘Okay, if we go on the assumption that this particular group of Roman builders stuck to roughly the same design as others in the area, then I think we can guess at the corner of the structure being about here.’ The
a pointed to a spot on the screen. ‘Can you focus in on this area please?’

  Ajay obliged as Shaun spoke to Thea. ‘Your hunch wasn’t wishful thinking, was it?’

  She didn’t answer. Her heart was thudding hard in her chest. Eventually, after staring at the semi-blurred image for a long time, Thea said, ‘We need more surveys. Very soon. Tomorrow, in fact.’

  Shaun and Andy were talking logistics in seconds, but Sam raised a cautionary hand. ‘I hate to rain on your parade, but we can’t. The marquees are going up soon. Open Day, remember?’ When no one answered, he added, ‘What do you guys think we’re staring at anyway?’

  Andy got up. ‘Whatever chat you guys are about to have, I think it’s going to require beer. I’ll get them in.’

  Ajay joined his friend. ‘I’ll help. I also think we’d better see if Moira has room for us to stay over. But I’ve got to tell you, Shaun mate, the land out there has been churned over and dug into different styled gardens for generations. The chances of us finding anything as clear as this image, beyond the patch surveyed, is next to non-existent.’

  Andy agreed, ‘Not only that, but we have to be on the road by ten tomorrow morning. If you do want a few extra patches doing, we need to plan the markers out tonight and survey at six in the morning.’

  Thea was thoughtful. ‘Do you think it could be all done and hidden away before the volunteers arrive? I’d put money on Mabel at least being here by seven.’

  ‘Not a hope.’

  ‘Then I think we should leave it.’

  ‘But Thea…’

  ‘I know what you’re going to say, Shaun. This is important. Really important, but so is the Open Day. Mabel, Derek and the others have worked so hard. The people of Upwich are looking forward to it and I’ve let them down enough already. These remains have been hidden for long enough to survive two more days.’

  Wishing her friend wasn’t right, but knowing she was, Tina agreed. ‘And if we did have more results, what would it matter? The house is sold. Unless they employ a surveyor who advises against the sale, the remains aren’t the Trust’s to make a decision over after the 21st . And they certainly aren’t ours.’

  Feeling as if someone had burst his bubble, Shaun said, ‘I suppose so. Thanks though, boys. Let’s get that beer and some of Moira’s finest pub grub.’

  After the men had gone in search of sustenance, Tina noticed Thea’s downcast face. ‘Come on, there’s still lots to celebrate. Your new job and the fact that the house is so well restored despite everything, not to mention our lovely new relationships.’

  Biting back her frustration over the future of the house, Thea asked, ‘You and Sam okay?’

  ‘We are. I wish I’d listened to you sooner.’

  ‘That’s what I keep telling everyone.’

  *

  Shaun unfolded the speech he’d been working on and sat on the edge of his bed. He hadn’t expected to find it made for him, and he smiled at the thought of Thea using time she didn’t have to make sure they were comfortable. She’d be up soon. He tried not to think about that or he’d never rehearse his speech.

  The meal in the pub had been perfect. Thea got on well with the AA boys and was going to fit into the Landscape Treasures team perfectly. Despite their disappointment about finding a new treasure but not being able to do anything about exploring it, they still had lots to look forward to. He intended for him and Thea to start celebrating as soon as she joined him.

  He was about to start reading his speech again when his eyes fell on a piece of paper tucked between the sheets and his pillow.

  I’m writing this in case life takes over and I don’t have the chance to tell you in person that I’m glad I found you – or that you found me.

  I hope you will forgive me for not sleeping in here with you tonight. This is our last night at Mill Grange and I want to spend it in my little attic room. I can’t really explain why because I’m not sure I know the reason… but it isn’t because I don’t want to be with you. It’s just something I need to do. Hope you can understand that. Thea xxx

  Shaun sighed. ‘I thought we had something to celebrate. Maybe not.’

  Forty-Five

  July 19th

  Thea stared up at the ceiling. Now she was in bed, alone, she wasn’t sure why she’d needed to be in her attic room so badly.

  After an hour of tossing and turning, she pulled a jumper on over her pyjamas and got out of bed. Padding along the corridor and down the stairs, she hoped Shaun was still awake. She needed to talk to him about what she suspected they’d found in the garden.

  Knocking lightly, hoping he wouldn’t mind her contrary arrival, Thea poked her head around the door.

  Shaun wasn’t in bed, but was seated at the little desk, the printed-out plans from Ajay spread in front of him.

  ‘What do you want?’

  Shaken by his less than friendly greeting, Thea backed away. ‘I’m sorry, I… I couldn’t sleep. Suddenly I wondered why the hell I’d needed to be in that room on my own so badly and… I’m sorry.’

  Shaun’s expression remained unreadable. ‘We walked home together and you zipped off to your room so fast I thought you were desperate for the loo or wanted to get a warmer jumper or something. You never said a word about wanting to be on your own, even though you had the chance. Then I found that bloody note.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to offend you, I just thought—’

  ‘No, you didn’t. You didn’t think at all, Thea. Did it cross your mind that this is our last night here? In this place, where we got together for the first time?’

  ‘I—’

  ‘No, it didn’t. You just wanted to go back to a time before us. A time when you could stay safe in the knowledge of being all sorry for yourself over John, and worried about Mill Grange and nothing else. Have you any idea how that made me feel?’

  Forcing herself to stand her ground, and not be the Thea of old, who would have either apologised or run away or both, she said, ‘Actually I do. I made a mistake with that note and with not talking to you about it first. I was about to apologise to you, and I still will if you’ll let me.’

  ‘Go on.’

  She could see Shaun was mellowing already, and it suddenly dawned on her that this was a man as insecure as she was when it came to relationships.

  ‘When I was in the attic packing away all my stuff earlier today, it felt right to end my journey at Mill Grange where it began. It wasn’t a case of ignoring all that’s happened, but of coming full circle in an attempt to let go. But once I was in bed, I couldn’t settle. Not just because of everything that happened today, but because I realised I didn’t want to work it out or think about it on my own. I wanted to share it with you. Is that okay, or should I go back upstairs?’

  Shaun got up from his desk. ‘I was trying to learn my speech for the opening ceremony.’

  ‘Right.’ Thea wasn’t sure what else to say.

  They stood, three metres apart, neither moving, but neither wanting to leave or order the other to go.

  Eventually, Thea said. ‘I think we found a Roman fortlet today. Maybe even a fort.’

  The light that she’d seen shine in Shaun’s eyes earlier came back. ‘That’s what I thought. Fortlet, rather than full-blown fort.’

  ‘If it is, then it’s situated in the perfect place to keep control of where the two rivers join and the terrain surrounding it. Take away the trees that are here now, then from the vantage point of the hill, you could see for miles.’

  Their discomfort and hurt pride was forgotten in the face of the possibilities offered by the past. Thea sat at the desk, pulling Shaun’s printed geophysics plans towards her. ‘So the Romans established a legionary fortress at Exeter around AD 55. That base had a support network of smaller forts manned by a garrison of around 10,000 men spread across the surrounding geography.’

  ‘We’re a long way from Exeter here.’

  ‘We are yes, but Exmoor did have some outlying posts. To date we know that there
are the remains of two fortlets at Old Burrow and Martinhoe. The second of those overtook the first after it fell out of use. Neither was very big; each held about sixty men.’

  Shaun pulled a map out of his rucksack and opened it out, finding where Old Burrow was marked with his thumb. ‘Weren’t Old Burrow, and then Martinhoe built to keep the Bristol Channel under surveillance between about AD 55 and 75? Presumably they’d have been used to keep up communication with the Roman fleet which waited in the Silures of unconquered South Wales at the time.’

  ‘That would make sense.’ Thea added her own thumb to the map. ‘And then there’s a larger fort here, at Rainsbury.’ She tapped an area of Exmoor only a few miles away. ‘That’s why I’m sure this is a fortlet, not a fort. We’re too close to Rainsbury. There’s no need for anything other than a holding fort or territory marker here.’

  ‘Like a tomcat peeing on his land.’ Picking Thea up and tucking her onto his lap so they could study the map together, Shaun confessed, ‘I’m not going to be able to let this go. New owner or not, this is important.’

  ‘I know. Exmoor is one of the few places with Roman occupation this far south west. They usually stuck to earthworks and used little in the way of brick and wood like they did with the more permanent structures; they are so hard to find.’

  ‘But there were definitely bricks or stonework coming through in the geofizz.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Thea beamed up at Shaun, her excitement for their potential find helping kill off her stupidity in hurting his feelings by staying away from him on their final night at the manor. ‘Loads of such places could be hidden under buildings like Mill Grange. After all, the location is sought after for obvious reasons. The pleasure of the view for a start. Why would we imagine that just one generation wanted to use it for strategic or visual advantages?’

  Shaun, who’d managed to concentrate on the map alone until he’d pulled Thea onto his lap, gave a ragged grunt of agreement, before abandoning his struggle with desire and allowing his eyes to fall on Thea’s cleavage. ‘At the risk of being told off, I think I prefer my current view.’