The Garden of Forgotten Wishes - Trisha Ashley Page 0,44
Hut) on the morning of Easter Sunday, to be opened by the vicar of St Gabriel’s, the Reverend Jojo Micklejohn.
There were also various adverts for the amenities of the village, like the general store and the pub, which had a quiz night on Fridays. There was a bus timetable, too. The only bus stop was in the car park by the monastic ruins and it left on weekdays for Great Mumming at nine thirty and returned, having first gone up to Thorstane and back, at four thirty. If those times and days didn’t suit, you could whistle.
There was a card in one corner with a Thorstane taxi number, which I should think got a lot of use.
I was glad I had my little car, even though it was pretty much held together by string and hope.
Between the Village Hut and Old Grace Hall was the entrance to some old outbuildings, probably the original barn and stables for the house.
There was warm light behind the mullioned windows of the Hall, the gleaming white door flanked by neatly dug borders planted with spring bulbs.
It was all very pretty, but I didn’t linger, in case Ned was indoors and caught me goggling at his house.
Next came a tangle of dense black briars behind a short stretch of wall dividing the Hall from Lavender Cottage and I thought the rose garden must be wedge-shaped, for it was much wider by the fish pond. I wondered how far back it went … and itched to get my hands on some secateurs and find out.
There were more neat beds in front of Lavender Cottage, which I remembered were the special domain of James Hyde, the ancient gardener I hadn’t yet met and would do my best not to cross. There was work enough, without adding extra.
All was quiet as I opened the door to the flat, which already felt familiar and welcoming: a haven, where I could settle happily into my new life.
If it was proving impossible to excise completely from my mind what had happened during my brief marriage, at least here I could finish the healing process … and, as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
There might still be a few bumps along the way, even though I’d ironed out the situation with Ned. Wayne Vane could well be one of them.
I had dinner, followed by a dessert of jelly babies and an apple, then put the TV on low for company, while I made a start on the Matterhorn of possessions in the corner.
First, the low velvet chair, which went by the fireplace, with the small, white-painted bookcase next to it. Then I unrolled a rag rug that had been carefully layered with lavender bags and stored in a flat-topped wooden box, which became my new coffee table.
I was just filling the bookcase with the Beatrix Potters and Enid Blytons of my childhood, when I was interrupted by the imperative summons of Caspar, who had decided to join me.
He watched from the sofa as I finished filling the bookcase with more battered old favourites, but soon the busy day began to catch up with me and, after propping the landing door ajar for Caspar, should he need to make an exit, I retired to bed with Elf’s book. There was a good bedside lamp and I settled down, or I did once Caspar had stopped trampling across me with his great, hairy feet.
A Short History of the Village of Jericho’s End
Elfrida Price-Jones
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Beginnings
An outline of the situation and history of the village and its environs, including the early monastic ruins and the later rise of a strange religious sect.
Chapter 2: Fairies or Angels?
The many legends of fairy and angel visitations.
Chapter 3: Lost Treasure
Chapter 4: Gentlemen and Buccaneers
Some early history of the ancient Grace family, Old Grace Hall and the manor of Risings, together with the tale of a Regency scandal.
Chapter 5: The Grace Garden
The creation of the seventeenth-century apothecary garden at Old Grace Hall and the Tradescant connection.
Chapter 6: The Heyday of the Victorian and Edwardian Day-trippers
The creation of the River Walk, the advent of cycling tours and the arrival of the Verdi family and the first ice-cream parlour in Lancashire.
Chapter 7: The Jericho’s End Group
The flourishing artists’ colony between the wars.
Chapter 8: Jericho’s End Today
The post-war decline in visitors and the slow climb back to the popular tourist destination that it is today, with a map of the various interesting points and amenities.