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

Forcing herself to stay businesslike, and banish the imaginary conversation she was already having with Thea about why Landscape Treasures would not be filming at Mill Grange after all, Tina asked, ‘So, what should we do?’

‘Carry on. It may well be that Shaun and his team will be here on the 1st as planned. If not, I will accept the Treasure Hunters offer, and it will serve that Sophie right if she has to fork out the money. In the meantime, we will move forward with the dig anyway. I want to have it open before the first guests on the 5th regardless. That okay with you two?’

Helen and Tom nodded.

Sam slipped his hand into Tina’s. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think we all need a strong cup of coffee.’

Forty-Five

September 28th

‘I always thought the Anglo-Saxons were aceramic.’ Sophie lay on her stomach, outside the trench, reaching down to what she and Amber had painstakingly uncovered, flicking away the occasional fall of grit from the surrounding wall.

‘For a long time they were.’ Thea tucked her hair out of her eyes as she lay next to Sophie. ‘But towards the end, especially once the eleventh century arrived, that was no longer the case. More European influences were arriving all the time, and then William the Conqueror arrived with his forces and everything changed.’ Thea studied the faint patterns that crossed the rough squares. ‘These are something special. I wonder if they were imported?’

‘An expert from the museum in Truro is on their way. They should be able to tell us a bit more about them.’

‘Good job Phil hadn’t got all the cameras packed away. He’s bound to want Shaun to interview the expert.’

Wiping her hair from her eyes, Sophie muttered, ‘I wanted to say sorry. Again. I was such an idiot.’

‘I assume you’ve got past your crush now you know Shaun is a normal human being.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Don’t answer if this is too personal, but since you left school, have you mixed much with other people, or has it just been you and your books, television, social media and celeb mags?’

Sophie couldn’t speak for a second as she heard the last six years of her life summarised so neatly. Swallowing back the emotional lump that had formed in her throat, she replied, ‘No social media. No one to connect with, but the rest is true enough. Even when I screwed up all my courage and enrolled on the distance-learning course, I didn’t meet other people. I knew Mother would go spare when she found out about it. I even got the cook to hide the post, so she wouldn’t find out.’

Thea couldn’t help but smile. ‘What with your father’s secret paper reading and your post, it appears your cook is a loss to MI5!’

Sophie’s laugh died as she said, ‘I do meet people sometimes, but mostly at parties my parents drag me to.’

‘Husband hunting?’

Sophie dipped her head. ‘It’s like something out of the Dark Ages.’

Thea laughed. ‘No, this is from the Dark Ages-ish.’ She pointed to the tiled floor. ‘If you ask me, they had more sense back then.’

Hearing footsteps, Thea looked round to see Shaun heading in their direction. ‘I was about to come and see what needed doing next.’

Helping his girlfriend to her feet, he gave Sophie a perfunctory nod, before leading Thea out of earshot. ‘Sam just called.’

‘Is everything alright?’ Thea felt her palms prickle with apprehension.

‘Turns out, he hasn’t turned the Treasure Hunters offer down yet.’

‘But, it was only…?’ Thea waved a hand behind her in Sophie’s direction.

‘Doesn’t matter. As far as Treasure Hunters are concerned it was a genuine offer. There’s more. Sam’s had a maintenance quote in for work at Mill Grange that the fee Treasure Hunters are offering would cover.’

Thea found herself holding her breath as she asked, ‘He’s going to go with them anyway?’

‘Unless we are with him by midnight on the 1st of October, then yes.’

*

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

Helen pulled back from the scullery office door. She’d been on her way to email Exeter University to confirm that they wouldn’t need any student help for a while, when Tom’s voice echoed down the corridor. Taking a few steps backwards, she froze as his voice got louder.

‘But you promised me, Sue. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I gave up a job I loved. So I could see my son at the weekends.’

Helen knew she shouldn’t be hearing this, but she felt rooted to the spot as Tom’s tone dropped to weary exasperation.

‘There is no more money. You get everything I earn beyond my rent and food money. Which is fine, as long as it is spent on Dylan.’

There was a pause, in which Helen imagined Sue yelling, “Of course it’s all spent on our son”, before Tom spoke through gritted teeth. ‘Sue, stop and think. I am fourteen miles away. I am here to see Dylan at the weekends as we agreed; or more often if you need a night off. So, why can’t I see him on Saturday?’

Helen took a reverse step, as Tom responded down the line. ‘Why didn’t you just say that Dylan had been invited to a school friend’s house in the first place, rather than make it sound like you didn’t want me to see him? Honestly, Sue, you don’t half make life difficult. The answer is obvious; I’ll have Dylan on Saturday and he can visit his friend on Sunday as arranged. I can collect him at nine and have him back in Tiverton by bedtime Saturday night… Okay then, by six o’clock.’

Tom mumbled something else and then slammed the phone down.

After counting to ten, Helen walked forward. Trying to act as if she had no idea he’d just had a blazing row down the phone. ‘Hey, Tom.’

Shocked to see her, Tom ran his hands over his face. ‘Oh God, did you hear me shouting?’

‘A bit.’ Helen sank into Thea’s chair and turned on the laptop.

‘Sorry.’ He slapped a palm against the desk. ‘Dylan.