Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange

by Jenny Kane

  ‘Of course she didn’t. Tina isn’t the whinging type. I hear you went into their kitchen.’

  ‘Just once.’

  ‘But you did it.’ Bert patted his shoulder. ‘So, how was meeting your father after so long?’

  Sitting next to Bert, Sam pressed his gloved hands together to keep warm. ‘Surprisingly good. Frosty at first. Going inside – proving to him that I was working on my problem, certainly helped. He seemed as inflexible as always, but somehow… it’s hard to describe. He’d lost his bite.’

  ‘Age does that.’ Bert rested his kind eyes on Sam’s face. ‘You found him old, didn’t you?’

  ‘Did Tina tell Mabel about that?’

  Bert chuckled. ‘Tina told Mabel hardly anything beyond your kitchen adventure, much to my good wife’s annoyance. She said it was your story to tell.’

  ‘Quoting you almost directly, Bert.’ Sam made a mental note to thank Tina later. It wasn’t easy to forestall Mabel when she was in inquisition mode. ‘It wasn’t just the noticeable difference in his physical condition though. He was more accepting of what I had been through. Like he’d stopped seeing it as failure. Looking back, it was when I told him about the mill fire that the day changed from a carefully worded fencing match, where he had the upper hand, to a score draw.’

  ‘Getting the girls out of the fire would impress anyone, even without them knowing about your past.’

  ‘It wasn’t done to impress, it was just instinct.’

  ‘And that’s the point.’ Bert patted Sam’s knee. ‘Your need to help overtook your fear. And, before you say it, it wasn’t just because it was Tina and Thea; you’d have done the same if it was anyone.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘How did you leave the situation in Malvern?’

  Sam sat up, his demeanour immediately more confident. ‘Not bad actually. Thea called us about the Landscape Treasures team still working hard to meet the filming date. That definitely piqued Father’s interest. And there was the orangery.’

  Sam was telling Bert about the Edwardian-style greenhouse when Tom arrived with a flask of coffee, mugs and a cake tin. ‘Victuals from the bosses.’

  Bert chuckled. ‘And there I was thinking I was talking to the boss right now.’

  ‘I’m glad you’re fitting in so well.’ Sam laughed as Tom pulled up the last chair.

  ‘The cake is an ulterior motive. I know it’s a cheek as I haven’t been here five minutes, but I’m hoping to persuade my ex to let me have Dylan at the weekend. I haven’t heard back from her yet, but if she agrees, would it be alright to bring him to the house? The pub isn’t really suitable beyond sleeping there, and my plan to take him exploring on the moor is looking dodgy with all this rain.’

  ‘No problem.’ Sam smiled. ‘All I ask is that Dylan is supervised; I’d hate him to hurt himself. Oh, and that he stays out of the bedrooms; Thea and Tina would not be impressed at having to make the beds up again before the 5th.’

  ‘Noted. Much appreciated.’

  ‘While you’re here, Tom,’ continued Sam, gesturing around the empty space, ‘d’you fancy helping us decide how to change this space into the equipment store? We’ll need shelves, hooks and so on. I’d welcome your input. This is going to be your domain after all.’

  *

  The silence had been going on so long that it was becoming solid. Thea didn’t know where to look, so she studied the plate of chocolate Bath Oliver biscuits before her in intricate detail.

  Every now and then she’d risk glancing through her fringe to see Lord Hammett, his face serene and expectant, staring at his wife. The sense that her ladyship was seething hung in the air. Out of the corner of her eye, Thea could see Sophie on the sofa, her knees tucked under her chin. The only comfort Thea could draw from the situation was that Sophie wasn’t slumped or sulking, just waiting for the residue of the storm just past to blow over.

  Another painful two minutes passed before Lord Hammett spoke. ‘Are we to take it then, that you’re in agreement with the plan to keep the excavation open, to have the Cornish Heritage team remain here and finish up the current opened trenches properly and that you are accepting of the fact that our daughter could be part of that team, and will use the practical side of her work to help get her the degree she’s been studying for?’

  Sophie’s head shot up as her father went on. ‘You’ve not said no, my dear, and as I said earlier, we did agree that Sophie’s happiness was paramount.’

  ‘You did?’ Sophie’s jaw dropped as she stared from one parent to the other.

  Lady Hammett said nothing, but to Thea that was a major improvement from the shouting that had ensued when her husband had informed her that Sophie had settled well into the dig team and had even made a friend.

  Addressing Sophie, Lord Hammett said, ‘I suggest you go and get ready for your interview. What time was it to be held, Thea?’

  ‘As soon as Sophie was free.’ Thea turned to the young woman. ‘Dan’s in the big van; the one with the open back you can sit inside. He isn’t expecting interview clothes or anything.’

  Clearly in shock, Sophie muttered, ‘A job to work on the archaeology team here? For Cornish Heritage?’

  Before Lady Hammett could pounce on this opening, and suggest Sophie shouldn’t apply for a job that didn’t come with a formal request, or the need to wear a business suit, Lord Hammett said, ‘Perhaps you’d go with Sophie, Thea. Give her a few tips.’

  Guiding Sophie out of the drawing room, Thea flashed her eyes in Shaun’s direction, silently wishing him luck.

  *

  Having bustled a shell-shocked Sophie into the trailer to wait for Dan, with strict instructions to talk about how she’d located the church and her passion for the area, Thea headed to the excavation. The final trench was almost pared back to the original church floor. She could see Phil in discussion with the camera team getting ready to film. Returning to the area of trench she’d been getting ready to draw before Dan had arrived to discuss the potential of a handover, Thea had only just picked up her clipboard, when Phil waved frantically at her to join him.

  Wondering what had gone wrong this time, Thea got to his side in seconds. ‘You alright, Phil?’

  ‘Where the hell is Sophie? You persuaded me to let her stay on screen, and we need to finish up here. We’ve only three pieces to camera left to shoot, and this one is all about the local area and the time between the Romans and the Normans on Bodmin Moor. Sophie is supposed to be delivering it right now.’

  ‘Ah.’

  ‘Ah?’ Phil did not look amused.

  ‘Dan’s interviewing Sophie for a job on the ongoing team here.’ Thea glanced towards the house, hoping to see Shaun come out, but there was no sign of him. ‘Should I fetch Shaun?’

  ‘Not if he’s working his charm on Lady Hammett. We need this done. Come on Thea, you know about the Romans, you can be our visiting expert. Here.’

  Shoving the script into her hand, Phil marched over to the cameramen, explaining the change of presenter while beckoning to the make-up lady to do the best she could as fast as possible.

  *

  Thea sat next to Sophie, resting her back against the side of Guron House. ‘So, did you get the job?’

  Sophie nodded. Her lips moved, but the squeak that emerged was inaudible.

  ‘What’s wrong? I thought you’d be thrilled.’ Thea was puzzled.

  ‘I am.’

  As Sophie peered up through her fringe, Thea realised she’d been crying. Gloops of mascara clung to the end of her eyelashes, making her look like she’d stepped out of a gothic opera.

  ‘Are those happy tears then?’

  Sniffing loudly, Sophie blew her nose on a screwed-up tissue. ‘I overheard Phil saying that Treasure Hunters will have to do Mill Grange because of the hold-ups here. Shaun sounded so disappointed. That’s my fault.’

  Only just managing not to snap, Thea said, ‘You weren’t to know how much Mill Grange needed the television coverage.’

&nb
sp; ‘I did, actually.’ Sophie swallowed. ‘But I was only trying to help. Really. I told you when I gave you the phone, I said I was helping.’

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘You walked off and—’

  ‘I wasn’t in the mood for listening at the time.’ Thea sat up straight, her pulse suddenly racing. ‘I’m listening now.’

  Rubbing her eyes, Sophie spoke fast, the words galloping from her mouth, as if she’d been desperate to set them free. ‘You’ve been so kind to me. Even helped me get a job, and I’ve ruined things for you guys. But I genuinely thought I was helping. It’s not as if I could get into his phone’s email function anyway.’

  ‘Get into his emails?’ Shaun’s phone? Thea held up a hand and cut through Sophie’s outpouring of guilt. ‘Just how were you helping, exactly?’

  *

  As soon as she’d heard Sophie out, Thea got to her feet, ordered the student archaeologist to stay where she was, and went to fetch Shaun. His eyebrows knitted together in disbelief as Thea filled him in on Sophie’s confession.

  Now, crouched before Sophie, with Thea at his side, Shaun’s hushed voice dripped disbelief. ‘You’ve never been to Mill Grange – why would you interfere like that? And why did you want to access my emails?’

  ‘To see if Sam had said yes yet.’ Sophie’s face went white. ‘By contacting Treasure Hunters I was making sure Mill Grange didn’t miss out on telly coverage while we had Landscape Treasures here. I thought I was doing you a favour.’

  Shaun was incredulous. ‘But you knew I wanted Landscape Treasures to do the Mill Grange dig, so why inform Treasure Hunters, our biggest rival, about it? The fortlet is such an important site; you must have known they’d try and take it from us?’

  ‘I just thought I…’ Seeing the hurt faces in front of her, Sophie’s guilt morphed into frustration at the wasted effort she’d gone to on their behalf. ‘If Mill Grange had accepted Treasure Hunters’ latest offer, they’d have made a fortune. The place would be able to run for ages on the money I was willing to gift them! Sam wouldn’t have needed the Landscape Treasures team then.’

  Sophie bit her lip, lapsing into a sudden silence. She hadn’t meant to say the last few sentences out loud.

  ‘The money offered by Treasure Hunters was from you? You didn’t just tell them about the site; you were financially backing their dig?’ Shaun couldn’t believe it. ‘No wonder the sums mentioned were vague! Do your parents know you’ve been spending your inheritance this way?’

  ‘I haven’t spent a penny.’ Sophie huffed. ‘The offer has yet to be accepted. What’s wrong with your boss, Thea? Doesn’t he want the best for Mill Grange?’

  Stung at the accusation on Sam’s behalf, Thea hissed, ‘You’ve heard of loyalty, haven’t you? Doing things for friendship rather than money? Or is that a concept lost on the aristocracy these days?’

  Sophie’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out as Thea’s patience finally broke.

  ‘Sam was holding off, potentially risking having no filming at all, because he wanted to work with Shaun – not because he’s greedy and was hoping for the offer of a bigger financial incentive from Treasure Hunters!’

  ‘You don’t understand!’

  ‘Then make us understand!’ Thea stabbed a finger in Sophie’s direction. ‘Don’t you think you owe Shaun the truth after all the trouble you’ve caused here?’ Not pausing to let Sophie reply, Thea asked, ‘How did you imagine this playing out? Did you think Shaun was going to see you as some sort of philanthropist?’

  Sophie rounded on Thea, about to snap back at her, but one look at Shaun stopped her, and she deflated; all her fight gone. ‘I don’t know. At the time I thought…’ An image of discarded celebrity magazines flitted through her mind. ‘But a lot has changed since I called Treasure Hunters.’ Sophie sighed as she twirled a signet ring around her middle finger. ‘I meant no harm. I thought…’

  Thea took hold of Shaun’s hand. ‘No, Sophie, you didn’t. You didn’t think of anything at all beyond what you wanted. You saw Shaun as a way out of a life you didn’t want. It’s as simple as that.’

  Sophie glanced across to the dig site, tears welling back up in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. Are you…?’ The words choked on her lips for a moment. ‘Are you going to tell Dan, Phil and my parents?’

  Thea and Shaun exchanged looks, before Shaun replied, ‘No, we aren’t. But I’ll be keeping in touch with Dan, so we will know if we need to rethink that decision.’

  Sophie’s forehead crinkled into neat furrows of confusion. ‘Why aren’t you telling my parents?’

  ‘Because you’re a grown-up!’ Thea’s couldn’t hold back her exasperation. ‘What do you want me to say, Sophie? That Shaun is sparing you humiliation in front of Lord and Lady Hammett because he loved you all along? I can’t do that.’

  Sophie dragged the back of a hand across her eyes as they prickled with tears. ‘What will you do now?’

  Thea put her hands on her hips. ‘Get back to work of course. We’ve given you a chance here. Don’t screw it up.’

  Shame pricked at Sophie as she scrambled to her feet. ‘And you, Shaun?’

  ‘I’m going to call Sam.’

  *

  Phil was devoid of the relief that Shaun and Thea had assumed he’d feel now their rivals were off the scene.

  ‘I grant you it’s good news that Treasure Hunters aren’t doing the dig, but I can’t see how we’re going to make it in time to film Mill Grange.’

  ‘But…’ Shaun bit back a pleading rant. ‘I know we’re close to wrapping up. Is there any way we can get it done?’

  Phil sighed. ‘Look, mate, I know this is important to you, but it’s not just the time. It’s the budget. Each time delay has cost us money in wages and electricity as well as daylight hours. The money men say we won’t be able to give Mr Philips a fee for the filming.’

  ‘That’s doesn’t matter,’ Thea jumped in, hoping Sam wouldn’t kill her for what she was about to claim. ‘Sam just wants it filmed. Any leftover budget you have for a fee would be welcome, as it would be used to help us get as many traumatised military through our doors as possible, but the main thing is to appear on television. It would put Mill Grange on the map.’

  Shuffling a hand through his hair, Phil turned from Thea to Shaun and back again. ‘How am I supposed to respond to that? If I don’t say yes now, it looks like I’m not supportive of the plight of recovering soldiers.’

  Thea smiled. ‘I didn’t mean to turn on the guilt trip, but if there is a way to get you guys to Mill Grange, fee or not, I’d love to help that happen.’

  Forty-Four

  September 27th

  Shaun watched for the camera light to change colour before launching into his script with a professional smile.

  ‘If St Guron’s church had been Norman, rather than pre-Norman, we’d expect to see a more complicated structure laid out before us; more like the churches we see today. Saxon churches, however, maintained a simple line in design, with unfussy rectangular bodies and a tower. The way stonemasons cut their building materials also differed between Norman and Saxon engineers.’ Shaun ran a hand across a recently discovered wall as he walked towards the camera, his arm gesturing to his right. ‘As you can see, the Saxon workmen, unlike their more precise Norman counterparts, were haphazard in their preparation of stone size; although their craftsmanship was still outstanding, and their architecture was no less impressive for its slight jigsaw appearance.

  ‘And so, as the team here at the Guron Estate on Bodmin Moor finish recording all we’ve found over the past four weeks, it’s with great pride that Landscape Treasures can claim to have had more than one hand in putting an end to a centuries-long mystery. The location of the lost church of St Guron has been found!’

  ‘Cut!’ Phil held his thumb up as Shaun took a swig from his bottle of water. ‘Excellent. That’s it. We’re done on the filming unless something miraculous happens find-wise between now and four o’clock.’


  ‘Don’t tempt fate.’ Shaun folded his script back into the episode file. ‘I always feel awkward at this part of our time on a dig; hoping they won’t find anything special, so we can keep to schedule.’

  ‘Especially this time.’ Phil gestured towards Sophie, who was back working with Amber. ‘Dan tells me that Lord Hammett has agreed to keep the site open for another six weeks.’

  ‘Don’t ask me how he got his wife to agree. When I left them debating the issue it was like the start of a Cold War.’ Shaun surveyed the scene. ‘There’ll be no more trenches. The work will be recording, reporting and preserving this lot for now. But I wouldn’t be surprised if his Lordship worked his magic and the whole place was uncovered eventually.’

  ‘Costly.’

  ‘Not a problem apparently. A fact which I’m sure went a long way with Dan when Sophie was given a job on the team.’

  Phil watched the young blonde woman chatting with her new friend. ‘I hope that isn’t the only reason. Faults aside, she’s a good archaeologist.’

  ‘She is.’ Shaun nodded. ‘And I’m sure she’ll make a good site manager.’

  ‘You think it’ll open to the public properly?’

  ‘Sooner or later Sophie will inherit this place. Now she isn’t hell-bent on escaping from Guron House, it seems a logical step.’ Shaun checked his watch and scooped up his script file. ‘Half past two. Time I got the paperwork up to date.’

  Taking his tablet from his bag, Phil flicked through the photographs he’d taken of the site. ‘I’ll get these sent to IT, so they can be uploaded onto the show’s website for the “what’s coming in the next series” thing. Then we can start winding down. If we can get the camera crew packed up and the support vehicles ready in the next few hours, then we can spare you and Thea this evening. It makes sense to have you up at Mill Grange, getting everything ready for us, and it’ll give you time to write your script.’

  ‘That would be fantastic. I’ll call Tina to say there’ll be two more for dinner tonight.’