The Garden of Forgotten Wishes - Trisha Ashley Page 0,36

my Sent box and another Mike had sent, telling them I’d had a nervous breakdown and to take no notice of anything odd I might have said in my resignation.

Ned, however, seemed still to have some reservations, but be unsure how to frame them. ‘Right … And I mean, you are sure you didn’t write that email and forgot?’

‘No, of course I didn’t and, what’s more, the day it was sent I was in hospital, having the contents of my womb scraped out, which was as much fun as it sounds.’

That was brutal, but then, so had my miscarriage been.

He winced. ‘I’m so sorry and … I think I do believe you and that you haven’t made all that up.’

‘Thanks very much,’ I said drily. ‘Anyway, once I’d recovered, Treena and I decided to put my escape plan into operation and at the first opportunity …’

‘You did a bunk?’

‘Yes, it seemed the only way out at the time. Mike had done a good job of convincing everyone he was the perfect husband, coping with a neurotic wife and isolating me. If your partner was jealous too, you should know how things get twisted and people are ready to believe stupid lies about you, even when they’ve known you for years.’

‘That’s true. And I apologize for not realizing you would never cast yourself as a neurotic victim. You really haven’t changed much at all.’

‘You should have seen me just after I reached France. I was a nervous wreck! But once I had time to get things back into perspective, I was fine.’ I paused. ‘My aims in life are totally different now. I’ve no ambition to be head gardener at a stately home, which would probably mostly involve doing paperwork anyway. What I love is the physical connection with the soil and the seasons and new life. I like getting my hands dirty and I’m not afraid of hard work. Other than that, I want peace, quiet and somewhere to live.’

‘There’s a lot of peace, quiet and hard work here, that’s for sure. When I inherited Old Grace Hall, I decided my mission in life was to restore the apothecary garden to what it once was. But I love the house too. It’s in need of a lot of work, and there isn’t much money. I need to get visitors into the garden and keep on my design work … but at the moment, there are only two very elderly part-time gardeners to help me. There was an occasional jobbing gardener, but he wasn’t reliable.’

Wayne Vane, I supposed. Revealing my connection with that family really would send my stock dropping like a stone down a well!

I said briskly, ‘Which is where the idea to share a gardener with Elf and Myfy comes in – I’m cheap, hardworking and on the spot, even if not cheerful,’ I said. ‘I’m fascinated by the apothecary garden and dying to sort out that jungle of rose briars, too.’

Ned grinned suddenly, which took years off him, and said, holding out his hand, ‘Yes, I think you are exactly what I need, Marnie Ellwood. Pax?’

‘Pax,’ I agreed, taking his hand. His strong fingers closed warmly around mine for a moment and then let go.

‘Right, that’s settled then,’ I said, more briskly, getting up. ‘I’ll have to go now, because I’ve got loads of things to organize in Great Mumming and I won’t get the chance again till next week. But I’ll come here first thing in the morning and then make a start on the Lavender Cottage garden later. I have to go up the River Walk after four every day, anyway.’

‘OK and then I can show you round the garden and fill you in on our plans,’ he agreed, following me to the door. ‘I’ll introduce you to James and Gertie then, too.’

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ I lied, though it would at least be a nice change to have elderly gardeners barking commands at me in English instead of French.

The pheasant had vanished, but the peacock was now squatting on the wall and his lost-soul wail followed me all the way back through the gardens.

9

Hot Beds

I didn’t go back to the flat, since I had with me the small rucksack which did duty as a handbag. I skirted round the end of Lavender Cottage and drove off over the humpbacked bridge. There were few people about and luckily I met no other traffic on the narrow lane to the main road. This time, opposite the