‘Hence the Grow-Well,’ smiled Kate.
‘And now the Winter Garden,’ Luke added.
‘Wow,’ I gasped, feeling in awe of both the past and the present. ‘I’ve spent the last few days researching winter gardens,’ I told the pair, ‘but now I’m thinking I should have been googling Prosperous Place and your family, Luke. I’d love to know more about them.’
‘Well, that’s no problem,’ he said, setting down a mug in front of me. ‘Kate and I can fill you in on what you want to know as we go along.’
I felt a pang of disappointment that I wasn’t going to be properly involved with the project because it all sounded absolutely fascinating.
‘So, what have you discovered in your research?’ asked Kate, looking keenly at the pile of papers and my bulging file.
I ran them through the notes I had made, expanding on the list of shrubs and trees I had previously mentioned to Luke and again emphasised the importance of scent as well as all the other senses and how using form and structure would enhance what was already established.
‘Talking of structure,’ said Luke, once I had stopped to draw breath, ‘I’ve also been thinking about adding some sculptures.’
‘Oh,’ I said, wondering what he had in mind.
Was he talking about commissioning something bespoke or popping down to the garden centre for a few gnomes? I seriously hoped it was the former. Not that I had anything against gnomes, but I wasn’t sure how they’d fit into the elegant scheme of the Prosperous Place Winter Garden that I had in mind. Not that it was my vision that was going to be created, but still.
‘What sort of sculptures?’ I asked.
He didn’t have the opportunity to answer as the kitchen door flew open and in ran two little girls, followed closely by a woman with flushed cheeks. Nell tucked herself further under my chair and I leant my leg against her to reassure her that everything was fine. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who had become a little too accustomed to my own company.
‘We’re starving!’ groaned the eldest girl. ‘Is it lunchtime yet?’
‘Sorry,’ apologised the woman, scooping up the little one I recognised as Abigail. ‘They wouldn’t wait.’
I looked at my watch and was amazed to see that it was actually well past lunchtime. We had been talking far longer than I’d thought.
‘That’s my fault,’ I said. ‘I think I’ve got a bit carried away.’
‘Not at all,’ said Kate. ‘Your enthusiasm is contagious, Freya.’
‘And you certainly know what you’re talking about,’ said Luke, taking Abigail from the other woman before settling her in a high chair and handing her a breadstick which she immediately annihilated by bashing it against the tray.
‘This is Carole,’ said Kate, introducing me to the woman. ‘She lives in Nightingale Square and is one of the Grow-Well gang.’
‘You met her husband, Graham,’ put in Luke, ‘on the open day.’
‘Of course,’ I said, standing up to shake the woman’s hand which was a little formal, but I got the feeling that she was someone who appreciated a good first impression. She was dressed almost identically to how her husband had been. All that was missing was the name badge. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘And you, my dear.’
‘She’s also the glue that keeps the Grow-Well committee on track, the girls in line, and pretty much everything around here running like a well-oiled machine,’ beamed Luke.
Carole looked pleased. ‘I don’t know about that,’ she flushed, ‘but I like to do my bit.’
‘More than your bit,’ said Kate, ‘and we all love you for it.’
‘And I’m Jasmine,’ said the older girl, holding out her hand for me to shake and mimicking what I had just done with Carole.
‘And I’m pleased to meet you too,’ I said, shaking it but not quite as firmly.
‘How do you do?’ she asked, in a silly, posh voice.
‘Very well,’ I mirrored back, making them all laugh. ‘And how do you do?’
Jasmine dissolved into giggles and Abigail offered me the soggy end of her breadstick, making me feel very much at home.
‘I’ll come back for the girls in a bit,’ said Carole, ‘which will give you three a chance to look around outside in peace. It’s stopped raining by the way, but it’s wet underfoot. You’ll need wellies.’
Fortunately, I had put mine in the van. I rarely travelled without them and none of my clothes objected to a bit of mud. My creased old Barbour and well-worn jumpers and jeans were generally as sophisticated as I got.
‘Thanks, Carole,’ said Kate.
‘Have you seen the cats?’ Luke asked her, handing Abigail another breadstick because she had started to clamour for her sister’s as soon as she had handed me hers.
‘Both asleep in the bothy,’ said Carole. ‘See you in a bit.’
After lunch of homemade soup and delicious bread, which Kate told me came from a wonderful bakery just up the road and had been baked by another Nightingale Square resident, Carole returned for the girls, and the three of us set off into the garden. It was very wet, with puddles pooling on the paths and everything now looking soggy, forlorn and in need of some proper deadheading and general tender loving care.
‘This weather has certainly helped the weeds along,’ commented Luke, bending to pull up a particularly large specimen.
‘I think we’ve definitely seen the end of the summer now,’ I agreed. ‘It will be time to put things to bed before we know it and hopefully for you guys, wake the Winter Garden up.’
They both looked excited at the prospect, even if they weren’t all that sure how to go about it.
‘Are you absolutely sure I can’t tempt you with that job offer?’ Luke asked, as we finished the tour, having looked at an area I had missed before and which Kate said was a carpet of snowdrops in the spring. ‘It still stands, you know.’
‘We’d love to have you on the team,’ said Kate, linking her arm through mine.
My heart skipped in my chest as we made a dash for the house when the rain started again. I was sad not to have seen the Grow-Well, but at least it would be the perfect excuse to come back for another visit.
‘You said you manage a garden in Suffolk, didn’t you?’ asked Luke, offering me a chair at the kitchen table once we’d pulled off our muddy wellies by the back door and picked the conversation up again. ‘On the Broad-Meadows estate.’
He had a very good memory.
‘That’s right,’ I confirmed.
‘And do you love it there?’ Kate asked, sounding very much like she hoped the answer was going to be no.
‘I do,’ I sighed, ‘but it’s complicated.’
Over tea and a slice of Victoria sponge – another treat from the bakery – I explained about how my job was potentially set to come to an end and how I was currently living in tied accommodation. I didn’t go into details about how I came to meet Eloise because it wasn’t relevant.
‘So, the upshot is,’ I told them, ‘I’m soon going to lose both my job and my home, and I can’t consider another position unless it offers me somewhere to live.’