Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📗

was pitched against. Dew clung to the outside of the waterproof canopy. As Tina watched, she saw that a spider had spent the best part of a sleepless night weaving an intricately beautiful web between the main guy ropes. She felt sad as she thought of the spider’s effort being wasted. As soon as Sam opened the tent flap, the cobweb would be knocked and destroyed.

Unsure how such a tragedy could be prevented, Tina hovered, feeling awkward about just walking in. Instead she called lightly, ‘Sam, are you there? I have your post.’ On hearing movement, she called, ‘Don’t push the tent flap back too far, there’s a spider’s web.’

As soon as she’d said it, Tina felt silly, yet, as the morning sun caught the silver silk, she knew she’d feel guilty if she was responsible for its destruction.

Unzipping the tent, Sam was out in seconds, his exit more of a sidle than a leap. His eyes went from the post in Tina’s hands to her eyes and back again, before saying, ‘Spider’s web?’

Tina pointed to the gossamer work of art, which was now swaying precariously, but somehow remained unbroken.

‘It’s beautiful. I’m glad you warned me.’

‘I’d have felt bad if all her hard work was ruined because of me.’ Tina held up the post. ‘I have quite enough guilt to be going on with.’

‘Another letter?’

‘Yes.’ Tina shuffled her boots against the light covering of fallen leaves. ‘And some bills. You should look before I deal with them.’

Suddenly seeing the damage his reaction about the correspondence with his mother had caused, Sam’s forehead crinkled. ‘But I trust you to sort the bills. I don’t need to see them unless we’re approaching bankruptcy.’

‘It didn’t seem right.’ She held up the blue envelope with the slopping script across the front. ‘I am sorry I responded to your mother’s initial contact without telling you. I misjudged the situation in my desire to help. It won’t be a mistake I make again.’

Sam felt panic rise in his chest at the sight of Tina so stiff and formal in his presence. ‘What do you mean, responded to her contact? She didn’t know I was here, so you had to have written to her first.’

Tina paled. ‘I did no such thing.’

‘But you admitted it. You said—’

‘You didn’t stay to listen to what I would have said.’ Tina swallowed, hoping Sam would hear her out this time.

Sam was stunned. He’d spent the night deciding what to do, how to tell Tina about asking Bert for help, and to say sorry for overreacting when she had his best interests at heart. Now it seemed the crime he’d thought her most guilty of – contacting his parents in the first place – wasn’t her crime at all.

‘Your mother wrote to the house. The letter wasn’t addressed to anyone by name, so I opened it with the other post.’

‘Come inside.’ Sam reached out a hand to touch her, but then dropped it. ‘Will you come inside and talk to me?’

‘Will you listen?’

‘Please, Tina. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.’

A glimmer of hope thawed her heart as she clambered inside, carefully avoiding the silken web.

*

‘Let me get this straight.’ Sam wrapped his arm tighter around Tina’s waist. ‘You’re saying my mother wrote to the house in general asking to be put in touch with the new owner.’

Tina nodded as she continued her explanation. ‘Yes. She was enquiring about the possibility of visiting the manor once it opened to the public. She didn’t mention you by name. It was only after I’d sent out the standard return letter we’d put together explaining that the house was no longer in the Trust’s care and wouldn’t be open to the public after all, that it clicked with me that the return address was Malvern House, and therefore your parents’ home.’

‘But you didn’t tell me.’

‘I almost did, but then I thought that if they have really washed their hands of you, then they’d read that it was you in charge here and not reply.’ She sighed. ‘I should have said something. I would have if I’d seen the replies come. Thea must have collected the post those days.’

Sam was quiet for a while, before asking, ‘Would you like children one day?’

Thrown by the question, Tina wiped a hair from his face as she examined it. He looked tired. ‘I would.’

‘Me too.’ Sam took a deep breath. ‘There are three main reasons why I want to be able to go inside again. The first is you.’

‘Me.’

‘I want to sleep in a bed with you – and only partly because I desperately want to see you completely naked for prolonged periods of time.’

Tina giggled. ‘Is that so?’

‘Secondly, because I’d also like a family one day. I can hardly be a hands-on dad if I can’t go into my child’s bedroom to change a nappy or soothe away a nightmare.’

Ignoring the tear that was running down her face, Tina smiled. ‘And the third reason?’

‘Last night I accepted a future invitation, date unspecified, for lunch at Malvern House. My mother wants to meet you.’

Ten

September 6th

‘You haven’t told Sam yet, have you?’

Thea sighed. ‘Not yet.’

Tina sat on the opposite side of her friend’s desk in the converted scullery. ‘Have you told Shaun?’

‘No. Only you.’ Thea eyed the email list before her, ‘Treasure Hunters haven’t sent a follow-up email chasing for a response yet.’

‘They will though.’ Tina waved the to-do list she had written towards her friend. ‘This lot needs doing or double-checking before our practice guests arrive tomorrow. Fancy helping me?’

‘Sure.’ Happy to log off her laptop for a while, Thea followed Tina through the manor’s corridor, past the kitchen, downstairs bathroom, converted lower bedroom and lounge and drawing rooms, to the broad wooden staircase that led them upstairs.

‘First task, check the bedrooms lined up for use have clean linen, a box of tissues, a jug and glass ready to be filled with fresh water in the morning, as well as making sure everything is clean, and that