Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange

by Jenny Kane

  ‘Are we still aiming for the three front rooms, to keep everyone together?’

  ‘Yes, although I’m going to offer…’ Tina referred to her notes ‘…Woody, the use of the downstairs room if he would prefer it. Sam said he’s not always comfortable with stairs.’

  ‘Why’s that I wonder?’

  ‘Sam said that Woody would tell us if we asked, but that it was his story to share.’

  ‘Fair comment.’ Thea lifted the curtains, relieved to find no evidence of arachnid occupation. ‘I guess we’ll have to get used to not asking questions like that.’

  ‘Shame we’re both so nosy!’ Tina grinned. ‘Do you think Mabel will cope with not knowing why people are choosing to come here?’

  ‘Publicly yes, privately it’ll drive her nuts.’ Thea opened a window and shook out her duster. ‘Talking of Mabel, I saw her menu for tomorrow night’s meal. It’s fantastic.’

  ‘I’m so glad she’s helping on this. I don’t mind cooking, but I get a bit daunted by getting amounts right when I’m catering for groups.’ Tina lifted the glass by the bed up to the light to make sure it was clean. ‘The first evening, while everyone settles in, Mabel has offered to cook. After that, she’ll just plan the menu and buy the ingredients; our visitors will do the actual cooking on a rota basis.’

  ‘Just as it will be when we have proper guests.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Tina felt nervous. ‘Although Woody, Ann and Dave feel like they’ll be proper guests. I hope it works.’

  ‘It will.’ Thea, who’d also been worried about how it was all going to come together once their visitors were in place, forced herself to sound confident. ‘Sam has a good grasp on what’s needed, and we’ve worked hard to make sure the manor is as ready as it can be.’

  Tina played with her left plait as she added, ‘He has also put together some packs of local walks for those who want to escape from people for a bit, or simply some extended exercise or fresh air, as well as gardening and household tasks for everyone.’

  Looking around the large room, Thea tugged unnecessarily at the already straight bed spread. ‘This room is done.’

  They’d declared the third bedroom good to go before Tina brought up the subject of Treasure Hunters again. ‘You have to tell Sam about the other TV offer. Whether he’s Shaun’s friend or not, it isn’t our decision to make, it’s his.’

  Thea grimaced. ‘I know. I was just putting off the evil hour. Thought you should deal with the letter issue first. When are you two going to Malvern House?’

  Tina gave a nervous squeak. ‘Not for ages, I hope. Sam is determined to be able to eat in their dining room, which apparently is so big it makes ours look like a lean-to shed.’

  ‘I still can’t get over the fact that Sam is an earl’s son. All those years you were hunting for a rich man to keep you in the style to which you’d like to become accustomed, and then…’

  Sticking her tongue out playfully, Tina said, ‘Oh no you don’t, Miss Thomas. No avoiding facing that you have to talk to Sam about the TV issue by going off into my murky past.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ She poked her tongue out in return. ‘Worth a try.’

  Flicking a duster over a shelf of books in the corridor, Tina said, ‘Maybe you should tell Shaun too, at the same time I mean. Do a three-way Skype.’

  ‘That’s not a bad idea.’ Thea was tempted by the idea of safety in numbers, but her conscience pricked the back of her mind. ‘We will all need to talk it through together, but I’ll tell Sam first. It’s only fair.’

  ‘Wise. Look what happened when I didn’t tell him about his mother writing, even though I didn’t realise it was her until it was too late.’

  ‘Quite.’ Thea let out a heavy sigh. ‘I’ve been thinking like Shaun’s girlfriend and not Mill Grange’s co-manager. If I’d never met Shaun, I’d be biting Treasure Hunter’s hand off, wouldn’t I?’

  ‘Probably.’ Tina smiled. ‘But you are Shaun’s girlfriend, and he is Sam’s friend, so he’ll understand your reticence.’

  As they strolled back along the upstairs corridor, popping into each bathroom as they went, ensuring clean towels and plenty of toilet rolls were in place, Tina added, ‘You’d be doing me a favour if you told Sam today. He’s so nervous about going to see his parents, and what with that and his determination to beat his claustrophobia by October, he could do with a diversion.’

  ‘I’ll go as soon as we’re done here. I want to show him the fortlet before I cover it over anyway.’

  ‘Cover it?’ Tina was surprised. ‘Aren’t you going to dig it?’

  ‘I am, but we can’t start too soon if Landscape Treasures are coming. They’ll want something to film.’

  ‘Which makes it even more important for Sam to decide as soon as possible which TV show is going to cover it.’ Tina shook her head. ‘Amazing to think we have a site that’s considered worthy of so much attention.’

  ‘You should see the requests for visits and magazine articles, not to mention academic papers on the Mill Grange Fortlet.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘I’m wondering if I’ll have time to be the retreat manager that Sam wants me to be if he also wants all these other avenues followed.’ Thea picked up a pen ready to write another list. ‘We need to have a proper management meeting soon. So far, I’ve just jumped from jobs that need doing instantly, to things that want doing now!’

  Tina laughed. ‘Same here. Every day I think I’ll get into a routine, but there’s always something that needs checking yesterday. The only time I’m sticking to a schedule is with the Trust work, and I’m resenting that time more every day.’

  ‘You should be able to give that up when things get going, especially once we’ve been on television. The guests will roll in.’

  *

  Bert and Sam were sat on one of the benches by the kitchen door. Sam was bent double. From the open kitchen door, Thea could hear the older man talking gently.

  Turning back from the door, Thea put the kettle on. If Sam was talking about his claustrophobia with Bert, they’d both need a strong cup of tea.

  Half watching the bench, not wanting to get her timing wrong and interrupt a private moment between the men, Thea filled four mugs, left one on the kitchen table for Tina, and placed the others on a tray, along with some chocolate biscuits, and took them outside.

  Bert heard her footsteps on the gravel path, and gave Sam a warning tap on the knee. ‘Well timed on the tea and biscuits, lass.’

  ‘I have an ulterior motive, I need to talk to Sam, and hoped refreshment would help things along.’

  Grateful that Thea had made no comment on his shaking hands, and had tactfully placed his drink on the gravel by his feet, rather than expecting him to take it from her, and consequently slop it all over the place, Sam asked, ‘Good news or bad news?’

  ‘I can’t decide; but good for Mill Grange certainly.’

  ‘Intriguing.’ Bert took his mug and got to his feet. ‘If you pass me one of those delicious biscuits, I’ll leave you two in peace.’

  Replacing Bert on the bench, Thea watched affectionately as he shuffled into the kitchen. ‘What’s the betting he’s off for a kip in an armchair?’

  ‘He’s earned one. That man has the patience of a saint listening to me harp on about my troubles.’ Feeling safe enough to pick up his tea, Sam took a sip, before adding, ‘Don’t tell Tina, but Bert is helping me with going inside the house. I’m hoping to surprise her and my parents together when we go to see them.’

  Thea grinned. ‘That’s great.’

  ‘Hopefully it will be – eventually.’ Sam shook his head. ‘Thank you for not asking how it went just now.’

  ‘You’ll get there.’ Thea passed him a biscuit. ‘The house is ready for our guests. Is there anything else you need doing inside or out that we may have forgotten?’

  ‘I don’t think so. I plan to try a few things with the guys coming tomorrow. They are game for pretty much anything, thank goodness.’


  ‘In that case, can I talk to you about the fortlet?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘As you know, Shaun and his team have created a space in their schedule to film here.’

  ‘Providing they finish on time in Cornwall.’ Sam dunked his biscuit. ‘Have you heard back from Shaun about how soon you can arrange for the students to start peeling back the topsoil?’

  ‘Not yet, I’m calling him this evening.’ Thea fished a piece of paper from her pocket. ‘The thing is; we’ve had an unexpected email. Here.’

  Sam took the printed email from Thea. His eyebrows rose as he read. ‘In excess of five thousand pounds? This is for real?’

  ‘Yes.’ Thea swallowed. ‘It has to be your decision, unless you’ve signed a contract with Landscape Treasures already.’

  ‘Not yet.’ Sam folded the paper back up, holding it tight. ‘Shaun said the contract wouldn’t be sent until the last minute, just in case they got delayed and it was all off.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘In excess of…’ Shaun repeated the same line that had first caught Thea’s eye. ‘What do you think that means? Surely it should state five thousand pounds or five thousand five hundred or something?’

  ‘I wouldn’t like to say.’ Thea felt awkward. ‘For obvious reasons, I’m rather torn on this.’

  ‘We do need income.’ Sam turned towards the manor. ‘I love this place, but it’s going to eat capital if we’re to keep it habitable.’

  ‘I know.’ Thea bit her lips. It was an effort not to remind him that if it wasn’t for Shaun, Andy and Ajay from Landscape Treasures, they’d never have known they had a Roman fortlet in the first place.

  ‘On the other hand, Shaun is our friend. Loyalty is more important than money.’

  Thea licked her lips. ‘I agree about loyalty, and obviously I’d much rather have Shaun’s team here, but this has to be a business decision, not a personal one.’

  ‘Let’s check the viewing figures.’ Sam passed her a biscuit before tapping at his phone. ‘Landscape Treasures was the original archaeology show, right? Treasure Hunters and that other one on Channel Five that I can never remember the name of; they came on its heels… Ah, here we go. Shaun’s show is the most popular. The opening episode of last year’s series of Landscape Treasures had two million viewers on the day alone. It has been repeated umpteen times since. That’s a lot of marketing, Thea.’

  Hardly daring to breathe, she pulled her mobile from her pocket. ‘I’ll check out the viewing figures for a standard episode of Treasure Hunters.’

  Her fingers were suddenly clumsy as she tapped the keys. After the third try at hitting the right letters into Google, Thea held the screen up to Sam. ‘It doesn’t give figures for the first episode of the series, but it does report that the average viewing numbers for Treasure Hunters are just over a million per episode.’

  ‘That’s still a hell of a lot of marketing, isn’t it?’ Sam got to his feet. ‘I tell you what, for now, send them an email saying that Landscape Treasures got in first. But, also say I’m considering their offer. That might keep both options open for while, without actually being dishonest to either programme.’

  ‘Probably sensible.’ Thea jotted some notes onto her pad. ‘I just hope Shaun will be able to confirm that Landscape Treasures are coming, sooner rather than later.’

  ‘Hear hear. In the meantime—’ Sam waved towards the walled garden ‘—the new chickens are due at two. Fancy helping me settle them in?’

  Eleven

  September 6th

  The hens and Tony Stark, the rooster, gingerly stepped around Sam as he hammered a peg into the ground. While he unrolled a chicken-wire fence, securing it with wire and further wooden pegs at regular intervals, Sam explained that they were about to have company, but that they weren’t to worry because he was going to build them a bigger home, so soon there’d be room for everybody.

  The squeak of the walled garden’s gate indicated the arrival of Thea and Tina. Walking slowly, they carried a chicken house between them, ready for Mill Grange’s newest residents.

  ‘Poor Gertrude looks confused.’ Tina sidled crabwise into the sectioned-off area of the coop, with Thea following. Gently they lowered the wooden house into place.

  ‘Gertrude often looks confused.’ Sam spoke with affection. ‘I think the behaviour of human beings is a constant mystery to her.’

  ‘And me.’ Thea surveyed the divided run. ‘Do you think that’ll be enough room for them?’

  ‘Short term it’ll be okay. Tomorrow I’ll start work on converting more of the garden into a bigger run.’

  ‘I hope they like each other.’ Tina fixed up a second food tray and water bowl.

  ‘They’ll bicker for a bit, but then they should be fine.’ Sam checked his watch. ‘The new brood will be here soon. Let’s leave this lot here to get used to the fence and head up to the drive. We’ll never hear the farm van from down here.’

  *

  ‘What do you mean, the JCB won’t work?’ Shaun ran an exasperated hand through his hair.

  The driver shrugged. ‘It was fine yesterday. But I can’t get the digging arm to shift. I don’t understand it.’

  ‘We only need one more trench uncovered.’

  ‘One or twelve, it makes no difference. It won’t move. Something’s jammed it good and proper. We’ll need to send it back to the depot and bring out a new one.’

  ‘Where’s that?’

  ‘Truro.’

  ‘Oh hell. That’s miles. It’ll be quicker to do it by hand.’

  ‘Then that’s what you’ll have to do, m’andsome.’ With a second unhelpful shrug, the driver climbed into his cab and started the engine.

  The beep of the vehicle’s reversing sensor caused everyone to turn in Shaun’s direction, including Phil, who immediately ran over. ‘What the hell is going on? Why aren’t we filming him uncovering the trench?’

  ‘JCB’s broken; the arm won’t move.’

  ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Phil scowled after the retreating digger. ‘How long to do it by hand?’

  ‘Three hours minimum. Quicker than waiting for a replacement vehicle from Truro though.’

  ‘Do it. And talk about it on camera. You know the sort of thing, make it work for us. “The hazards of modern technology and returning to traditional methods” and all that. Tie it into something about churches and other buildings being built by hand in the past, and the fact that we use machines now, but that doesn’t mean we do it better.’

  ‘Gotcha.’ Shaun beckoned to the team to gather round.

  Sophie was at his side first. Despite her underhand method of getting the team to Guron House, Shaun couldn’t deny her keenness.

  ‘Right, everyone, the JCB is broken, so we need to peel back the turf and topsoil ourselves. Now I don’t need to tell you what delicate work this is and, more to the point, to remind you that Lady Hammett has requested the turf is put back once we have finished.’

  There was a collection of groans from the team of seasoned archaeologists, but Sophie beamed. ‘Won’t that be better? More precise, giving us less chance of missing any little finds near the top?’

  ‘Not really, Sophie. It will slow the dig down and decrease our chances of getting to the end of the excavation on time.’ Shaun raised his voice so everyone could hear. ‘Grab your shovels and be careful. I’m going to do some voiceover work while you clear, so no chatter for the time being. Don’t forget the turf needs to come off in clean squares so it can be fitted back together.’

  This time the groan was louder as Shaun added, ‘And I will need the turf lined up precisely next to the trench, parallel to where it came from, so we can get it back as best we can.’

  ‘Wouldn’t the JCB have ruined the turf anyway?’ Sophie cheeks pinked as she asked the question, only to be answered by a sea of shaking heads.

  ‘The digger lifts it cleanly in long rolls. Your mother is not going to be impressed by this.’

  ‘Oh.’

>   *

  Climbing up the scaffolding observation tower that overlooked the site, Shaun examined the unfolding trench. Trying not to wince at the mangled state of much of the turf, telling himself a broken JCB wasn’t his responsibility, he focused on the excavation.

  The original trench they’d put in after studying the geophysics results was already mercifully clean. The three archaeologists working on it had made good progress, and it was obvious from the two connecting walls before them that they were definitely uncovering a pre-Norman structure. Made of large facing stones, and filled with rubble to provide the strength, the visible corner was slightly rounded, rather than squared off, like Norman walls.

  As he’d predicted, there was a lack of finds, but there was no doubt the site was a good example of eleventh-century architecture. Running his gaze from the exposed walls, which Shaun suspected formed the outer left wall of the church – if it was a church – he followed the site, keeping the survey results in his mind’s eye. The new trench was being placed in the hope of finding the opposite outer wall and the tower, thus confirming the ecclesiastical nature of the site. ‘If it’s ever bloody well uncovered.’

  He spotted Sophie’s bright yellow hair as, her back bent, she worked backwards over the pegged-out area. She was smiling, her grin lighting up her face. Shaun watched as she pushed her shovel into the turf, working just as hard as her companions. Not something he’d have believed of the spoilt little rich girl who’d almost scuppered the whole enterprise.

  *

  Mabel looked nervous. It wasn’t something anyone was accustomed to seeing as they sat wrapped in blankets under the stars, tucking into bowls of beef stew and fresh bread.

  ‘Is it alright?’

  ‘Delicious.’ Thea was the first to empty her mouthful enough to answer, while Bert, Sam and Tina nodded emphatically while chewing. ‘Really, Mabel, it is wonderful. Thank you for doing this tonight. You didn’t need to.’

  ‘I know, but I’m not used to that Aga thing, and I wanted to practise. I’m afraid it’ll be the same meal tomorrow.’ Suddenly she looked panicked. ‘Unless any of them are vegetarian. They aren’t, are they, Sam?’