two garments, and laying the suit on the bed, she pulled out the other item. It was a woman’s sleeveless summer shirtwaist dress, belted, with a full skirt and a single row of small white buttons down the front. It had been white but was now starting to take on a yellowish hue. But what caught Penny’s attention was its delicate pattern of violets. In some places, just a single flower, in others, a few flowers tied together to form a posy.
She felt a sudden flood of relief that Gareth was on his way to help her deal with whatever secrets this room was about to give up. She laid the dress on the bed beside the suit, walked over to the dresser, and took a sip of tepid coffee. She heard herself making a little sound of distaste and set the cup down. She wandered over to the window and, glancing down into the garden, wondered where she would find the time to keep that up. It seemed like ages since she had sat out there with Gareth on her first day in the cottage, and since that day the garden seemed to have become even more tangled and unruly. She was starting to realize how much work and upkeep even a small property like this entailed. There would always be something that needed replacing, repairing, or polishing. For the first time she wondered how Emma had managed so apparently effortlessly to keep everything always looking so nice and still have time to teach school and enjoy a social life.
As far as Penny knew, Emma hadn’t used any outside help, but she was starting to think she needed to hire someone to help her with the gardening and cleaning, especially now that the spa was going to be demanding so much of her time.
A knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts, and she ran down the stairs to open it.
“Hi,” he said, setting down a couple of boxes. “Sorry I’m a bit late. Is there any coffee?”
“There is, but it’s not very good, I’m afraid. I need to get a proper coffeemaker and maybe even a grinder for the beans.”
“Well, whatever you’ve got will do for now. Shall I go on up?”
“Yes, why don’t you make a start, and I’ll be up in a few minutes with fresh coffee.”
She watched Davies climb the stairs, and then she headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later, with two cups of coffee, she joined him.
“What do you think?” Penny asked.
“I think we’re going to have to be ruthless. Shall we start with the clothes? Are you interested in the clothes? I think they’re the easiest things to get rid of. You probably don’t want to wear something she used to wear, but someone else, who doesn’t know where they came from, will be glad to have them.”
Penny nodded and pointed to the suit and dress on the bed.
“Except for those two. I’ll put them back in the bag and hang on to them.”
Gareth nodded.
“So let’s get everything out of the closet. We’ll fold up the clothes so we can get more in a box, and I’ll drop them off at the rectory, if you like.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Oh, and be sure to check the pockets. You never know what you’ll find there.”
“Right.”
They worked their way through the contents of the closet but found nothing of interest. Shoes, hats, blouses, and skirts were soon packed up. Penny felt lightened to see them go. Gareth had been right. It was easy getting rid of these things that had no meaning to her. She opened the dresser drawers and bagged up underwear for the rubbish. In just over an hour, with only the occasional word exchanged between them, all Emma’s personal effects had been removed. Penny had set aside the jewellery to go over more carefully, and the few prints on the wall had been added to the pile for the jumble sale. They looked at the bed and then at each other.
“What are you going to do about the furniture?” Gareth asked.
“I’m getting rid of all of it. Then I’m getting the room painted and filled with lovely new things.”
Penny walked over to him, and just as she put her arms around his neck, his mobile rang.
“Oh, no,” he said. They sat down on the bed while he answered it. He listened for a few seconds, nodded once or twice, and then rang off. He placed the phone in his jacket and looked