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

‘I thought you were going to do that.’

‘I was, and will if you want to go back to the Baths – which I’d totally understand by the way. But there is more than enough work involved in managing the house for me. And with Tina doing the accounts and housekeeping, and Sam running the workshops and overseeing everything, we’ll need to employ more help eventually.’

‘Does Tom know about this?’

‘No. It didn’t seem fair to mention it as he is only on a four-month contract. After all, once the dig is complete, we won’t have anything for him to do.’

‘Not necessarily.’

‘Sorry?’

‘The techniques could still be taught. You could create a false find site. An area in which to learn the skills, then use local sites to practise on. If Sam connects with local archaeology trusts and offers free skilled labour, he’d be very popular. It would give the guests here a chance for social interaction beyond Mill Grange too.’

Thea rammed the ranging rod home. ‘That’s brilliant. Sam will certainly be interested in learning how that could be arranged.’

Helen frowned. ‘Don’t say anything to Tom though. I’d hate to raise his hopes, especially as he’ll be keen to stay near his son.’

‘And you’d hate to disappoint him.’

The memory of Tom’s face when she’d told him she was only staying a few weeks flitted through her mind. ‘I hate to disappoint anyone.’

*

The sound of three large Landscape Treasures vans, one towing the porta-shed of tools, driving their awkward way up the drive to Mill Grange, was loud enough to wake the dead.

Tina and Sam ran from where they were stacking the brand-new wheelbarrows and shovels in the stable block, in time to see Shaun and Thea emerging from the house with equal speed.

Shaun didn’t have time to open his mouth to ask what had kept them before Phil was gathering the two cameramen, Hilda the make-up lady, a runner, the sound man, and the editor; issuing very firm instructions.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have three and a bit days. That’s it. No extensions as Mill Grange opens on October 5th, so we need to be gone by then. We’re up against the clock on a small dig site. With the exception of Shaun, we are not doing the digging in-house. Mill Grange’s resident archaeologists are doing that. The focus will be on how the dig is going to be used as a form of therapy for recovering military personnel, and how this, a Roman military installation, is the perfect place for that.

‘Okay, lecture over! Shaun, over to you.’

Tina was feeling breathless just watching as Phil finished his speech and Shaun took over.

‘Thanks to all of you for giving up your precious time off to help us. So, let me introduce Sam and Tina; they own the house and grounds. It is Tina you go to with inside enquiries and Sam for outside. Thea and I will work on the dig with our colleagues Helen and Tom, who are up by the fortlet looking at the AA’s survey results.

‘There is a bathroom just inside the back door to the house, and if you go along the corridor there, you’ll reach the kitchen, where the fabulous Mabel will provide lunch on a rolling basis between twelve and two.’

Shaun turned to Phil. ‘Do you want to use the trucks for make-up, office et cetera, or would you like to go inside?’

‘We’ll stick to the vans. Takes less time.’ Phil grabbed his holdall and pointed across the garden. ‘Right then, it’s taken us long enough to get here, so let’s go up to the site and get on with it.’ He suddenly stopped. ‘Oh and can someone find a Christmas tree from somewhere please? A real one. With decorations.’

Forty-Eight

October 2nd

From the moment the Landscape Treasures team arrived, Tina felt as if life was being lived in fast forward. She didn’t think she’d ever walked so fast, or for so long, around such a small patch of ground in her life. Moving back and forth from the house and excavation, Tina was acting as runner, guide, coffee and tea dispenser and Mabel’s co-sandwich producer. It was a shock to realise she was enjoying every second. Her usual shy reserve was lost in her fascination with what was happening. Watching Thea talk Shaun through the work already done in front of the camera, Tina felt the weight of the last few weeks lift from her shoulders.

They’d come so close to the filming not happening at all thanks to misguided sabotage and a set of Anglo-Saxon tiles. And while Treasure Hunters would have taken longer and concentrated on the excavation, she knew that by including the house and its purpose in the programme, Landscape Treasures were giving them a far better marketing showcase. Tina also knew Sam would never have forgiven himself if he’d gone with the main rival to Shaun’s show.

A pat on her shoulder, and an accompanying whispered request from Tom to help him unload the trowels and tapes that Phil had brought with them as part of the sponsorship deal, sent Tina scurrying back to work.

As they reached the equipment porta-shed, where it was safe to speak without disturbing the filming, Tom asked, ‘What do you think? Going well?’

‘Very, by the looks of it. Now it’s been confirmed by the geophysics that Thea was right, and the fortlet is a little bigger than expected, they’re going full throttle to get more excavation time filmed. I’m surprised they haven’t asked you to get digging on screen yet.’

Tom scooped up a dozen trowels. ‘I’ll dig as soon as they like, but I’d rather leave being on telly to the experts. Anyway, keeping the equipment clean and the finds drawn, photographed and plotted is a full-time job.’

‘Tell me about it. I thought I’d get to watch and maybe carry over the odd tray of tea. How wrong I was!’ Tina stacked reels of tape measures into her arms. ‘I can’t imagine you being able to