The Winter Garden

by Heidi Swain

  * * *

  It was only an hour’s drive to Nightingale Square, but as promised I stopped en route to let Nell stretch her legs while I checked my phone. There was a message from Kate telling me to go straight to my house because she and Luke were having to make an unexpected trip into the city. She also explained that she’d left my key in the safe which Harold had had fitted inside the little brick porch. She had already sent me the code in one of the many emails we had exchanged and I couldn’t help thinking that it would be nice to see the place for myself and settle in, in peace.

  I was just climbing back behind the wheel when my phone vibrated again. It was another message, this time from Luke, telling me not to start unloading boxes on my own because they would be along later to help. Having already managed to pack everything on my own, and carry it down four flights of stairs, I was certain I could cope with the straight run up the garden path, but it was nice that he had thought to offer. As I turned the key and set off again I already knew that I was much going to prefer having considerate Luke rather than suspicious Jackson as my boss.

  ‘Here we are then,’ I said to Nell, pulling on the handbrake and turning off the ignition once I had driven around the square and parked up outside the house. ‘Home sweet home.’

  The square looked a little different to the last time I had seen it. There were far fewer leaves on the trees for a start and every house was adorned with at least a pumpkin or two. I had forgotten it was Hallowe’en.

  I was grappling with the key safe when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

  ‘You must be Freya?’ asked a man’s voice.

  ‘That’s right,’ I said, twisting round.

  ‘I’m John. I live next door with my wife, Lisa, and our little brood.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you, John,’ I said, abandoning the safe for a moment and turning to look at him properly.

  He was a big, solid bloke with a smile as broad as his shoulders and he looked as friendly as they come. The black and red checked shirt he wore made him look like a lumberjack and the size of his hands suggested he would have been useful in the role.

  ‘These things can be a bit tricky,’ he said, reaching around me and lining up the numbers in double time and with surprisingly nimble fingers. ‘There you go.’

  The little door dropped down and there, as Kate had promised, was the key.

  ‘We’ll come over in a bit,’ he said, with a nod to the van, ‘and give you a hand to unload.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ I told him, ‘but there’s really no need. I haven’t got all that much.’

  ‘It’s no bother,’ he insisted. ‘We’ll make short work of it, and save you the bad back.’

  I went to let Nell out of the van and it was only then that I realised that he had said ‘we’. I wondered who the ‘we’ would be. If I wanted to settle in, in peace, then I had better be quick about it.

  With my heart hammering in my chest, I turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. The layout was exactly as I remembered it, with the stairs ahead and the sitting room to the right with the dining room and kitchen behind it, but there were a few gaps on the walls now and the shelves were mostly empty.

  With the absence of some furniture, the rooms felt bigger too. Not empty though, just big. There were bunches of fresh flowers and foliage in vases in every room and a ‘welcome to your new home’ card from the Lonsdale family propped up against the kettle in the kitchen and another from Harold, with a note explaining about the noise the hot water pipes made. There was even a bowl of water already set out for Nell and, after flicking on the kettle, I discovered not only milk in the fridge, but eggs, bread, ham, a cold cooked chicken and some leafy salad – no doubt from the Grow-Well – too.

  ‘My goodness, Nell,’ I said happily. ‘I think we’ve fallen on our feet here, don’t you?’

  She thumped her tail in response as she drank her fill before wandering back into the sitting room and curling up in front of the fire, even though it wasn’t turned on.

  I took my tea upstairs and checked out the rest of the rooms. Everything was sparkling and fresh and there was a welcoming scent of lavender as I sat down on the bed. Clearly, Kate hadn’t been able to resist giving the place an autumn clean after Harold had moved out. Not that there had been anything amiss with his housekeeping skills, but she obviously wanted to make the house feel a little different and I was grateful that she had gone to so much trouble to make me feel welcome. There were just enough gaps and vacant spaces for me to add my own things and then the place really would feel like home.

  I banished thoughts of the cottage I had left behind, and the cramped rooms I had more recently been holed up in and went back downstairs to think about where I was going to put everything. I had barely started when Nell began to bark and someone rang the doorbell.

  ‘Welcome to Nightingale Square,’ beamed Kate, holding out a bag for me to take once I had opened the door.

  ‘Come in,’ I smiled back, ‘and thank you. What’s all this?’

  I led the way down to the kitchen and turned the kettle on again before peering into the bag.

  ‘Sweets,’ I said, looking at her again. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘They’re not for you,’ she laughed. ‘It’s Hallowe’en. They’re for the trick or treaters. Jasmine’s helping Luke to carve a pumpkin for you. They’ll bring it over in a bit.’

  ‘That’s great,’ I told her. ‘Thank you so much.’

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been actively involved in the spooky goings-on at Hallowe’en. Broad-Meadows was too isolated to attract door-to-door visitors.

  ‘And thank you for making the house so welcoming,’ I added. ‘I’ve just finished looking around and everything is wonderful.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure,’ Kate told me, ‘and I’m so excited that you’ve moved in today of all days.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because I moved into the square on Hallowe’en too,’ she told me, ‘and Lisa from next door gave me exactly the same welcome gift,’ she added with a nod to the bags. ‘My life has been completely transformed since I came here, Freya, and I’ve got the feeling yours is going to be too. I’m not suggesting it’s going to be all plain sailing, but we’re a great community here and everyone looks out for each other.’

  Right on cue, and as if to prove her point, the doorbell went again. I shut Nell in the kitchen, in case she was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. I knew I was.

  ‘Shall we get cracking then?’ John beamed, rubbing his hands together. ‘And get this stuff into the house?’

  He wasn’t alone this time. Graham and Carole had been drawn in as reinforcements and I could see Luke crossing the square carrying a very impressive, if slightly wonkily carved, pumpkin, with the two girls in tow. Kate came to stand behind me and I got the feeling that telling them I’d rather manage on my own would either offend them or be ignored and actually, seeing the kind look on all their faces, I found I didn’t want to manage on my own. For now, at least, I’d had enough of flying solo to last me a lifetime.

  ‘All right,’ I said, tossing John the keys to the van, ‘let’s make a start.’

  Chapter 6

  I didn’t manage to either set foot in the garden, or do a scrap of work during my first two days living in Norwich. Having ferried my things from the van to the house, Luke and Kate then insisted, with the others backing them up, that I should take time to settle in, find my feet and take stock of the changes happening in mine and Nell’s lives.

  Although keen to forge ahead, I had to admit I was both physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the day. Having unpacked my things in the house, lined up the cuttings in the back porch which was tacked onto the kitchen, and then spent ages handing out the sweets to the trick or treaters, when I climbed into bed I swiftly fell into a lavender-scented long and dreamless sleep. I had no idea whether or not the water pipes made any of the noises Harold had suggested, because I was
well and truly out for the count.

  Waking late, I followed everyone’s advice and set Sunday aside for pottering about, and much of Monday was commandeered by Kate as ‘orientation day’. By the end of it, we had sorted out utilities and other bills and then walked for what felt like miles.

  By teatime I was registered with the nearest doctor’s surgery, Nell was acquainted with the vets and I knew where Blossom’s the bakers and Greengage’s the grocers were located as well as the pub, fittingly for Norwich, called The Dragon, and a couple of other interesting-looking shops, including a second-hand bookshop and a vintage emporium.

  ‘I’m sorry we haven’t had time to explore further,’ Kate said as we arrived puffing and rosy-cheeked back in the square, ‘but at least now you’ve got the gist of what’s closest.’

  ‘I have,’ I told her, ‘and very lovely it all looks too. It’s going to be a novelty being able to walk to the shops for milk and freshly baked bread. At Broad-Meadows I had to drive everywhere.’

  ‘So, you’re happy?’ she asked.

  ‘Ever so,’ I honestly told her.

  I was still happy the next morning when my alarm went off, but I was a bit jittery too. I hadn’t felt first-day nerves when I started work for Eloise, but I had them by the time I slipped my feet into my wellies and crossed the square to Prosperous Place. It felt like there was so much more at stake here, what with the Winter Garden to plan and plant, but that was exciting as well as scary.

  ‘You got in all right then?’ called a voice from an upstairs window as I walked around the side of the house.

  I looked up and found Luke leaning out of it.

  ‘You scared me half to death,’ I called back, my hand on my chest.

  ‘Sorry,’ he grinned.

  ‘Yes,’ I told him. ‘I disarmed the alarm and reset it when I closed the gate.’

  ‘Great,’ he said, ‘then you shouldn’t have any problems opening up the sheds and office. I’ll come out and find you later.’

  ‘There’s no rush,’ I insisted. ‘I’m looking forward to having a proper look around on my own for a bit, if that’s all right?’

  He gave me a thumbs up and disappeared back inside, and Nell and I carried on.

  The sheds Luke referred to weren’t sheds in the wooden garden storage sense, but a sturdily built brick collection of what had possibly once been stables or garages. Two were set aside for the garden. The largest stored the bulkiest equipment – an ancient ride-on mower, chainsaw, hedge cutter and the like – while the smaller one was reserved for a comprehensive selection of hand tools, buckets, pots, labels, etc with the end being given over to what Luke called the office. Basically, an old table, a couple of chairs, a grubby kettle, a pile of invoices and a stack of gardening magazines.

  I spent the first couple of hours inspecting everything, checking service dates on the machinery and generally acquainting myself with what I had to work with. Everything looked to be in good order, aside from the ride-on, but the hand tools, which were wonderfully old, could have done with a good scrub and sharpen as well as a coating of linseed oil to protect the wooden handles. I noted that down as a wet-weather task. There were always things to do when managing a garden, even during inclement weather.

  By the time I had finished going through everything, Nell was getting restless.

  ‘Come on then,’ I said, pulling my coat back on, ‘let’s go and see what the garden has to offer, shall we?’

  In much the same way as I had worked through the tools and equipment, I made notes on every aspect of the garden, prioritising those areas which needed the most work and marking out, on a rough hand-drawn design, points of interest which we could highlight when the garden was open in the winter. There was already a lot that we could utilise and some obvious spots where we could further and easily enhance what was already planted.

  The only thing missing was a functioning greenhouse. The original ones were little more than shells, their wooden frames rotting and empty. Broad-Meadows had heated space in abundance and I knew I was going to have to broach the lack of it here with Luke at some point. A garden of this size really needed a glasshouse, even if only a small one.

  ‘Here you are,’ said Luke, when he later caught up with me in the fern garden. ‘We thought you’d come to the house for your tea-break, but there was no sign of you.’

  ‘Crikey,’ I said, straightening up from the crouched position I’d been in, trying to read a faded plant label, ‘is it that time already?’

  ‘Not tea-break time,’ Luke laughed. ‘You missed that completely. It’s almost twelve now.’

  ‘Is it really?’ I gasped, amazed that the morning had run away with me and I hadn’t realised.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘and Chloe, our trusty volunteer, is going to be here any minute. She’s looking forward to meeting you.’

  I was looking forward to meeting her too. I hoped she was, at the very least, willing and able because I had plenty lined up for her to do. My list-making was supposed to make me feel more organised and help settle my nerves, but it was getting so long, I was starting to wonder if just the two of us would be able to tick even half the things off in the time we had to get the garden ready to open.

  * * *

  Chloe turned out to be about my age, with a healthy can-do attitude and closely cropped auburn hair. She arrived by bicycle, with a bag from Blossom’s tucked in the basket and a warm and welcoming smile lighting up her striking amber-coloured eyes.

  ‘Oh, look at your gorgeous hair!’ was the first thing she said to me as I pulled my heavy plait over my shoulder for reassurance. ‘Kate told me it was long, but I thought she was exaggerating. Sorry,’ she then apologised, shaking her head as she climbed off the bike and thrust the bag from Blossom’s into Luke’s arms. ‘Rolls for lunch,’ she told him before turning back to me. ‘Let me introduce myself properly, I’m Chloe.’

  She was shorter than she had looked when she was sat on the bike, but no less full of enthusiasm. She was exactly what the garden, and I, needed. I was surprised Luke hadn’t been making better use of her, what I could already tell was, boundless energy.

  ‘And I’m Freya,’ I smiled back.

  ‘Of course, you are,’ she grinned, ‘with your pretty blue eyes and Rapunzel tresses you couldn’t possibly be anyone else. And this is lovely Nell.’

  Nell was doing her best to stay hidden behind my legs. I reached behind me and patted her head.

  ‘It is,’ I told Chloe. ‘I’m afraid she’s a bit shy.’

  Chloe nodded. ‘I can sympathise,’ she said, looking at the little she could see of Nell’s head, ‘I’m a bit that way myself.’

  Luke rolled his eyes and led us into the house while I tried to work out if she was being serious and braced myself for the first of many unusual working lunches.

  As the three of us (Kate was away for the day), ate our way through the soft filled rolls, and then some delicious cakes, I, at Luke’s request, talked them through the notes I had made so far.

  For the most part, he and Chloe sat and listened, encouragingly nodding along, with the occasional ‘I told you we should have been doing that,’ thrown in from the eager volunteer.

  ‘So, Chloe,’ I said, once I had finally finished and the clock on the wall was telling me we had talked way beyond the thirty minutes I usually allotted myself for lunch, ‘can you remind me how many days a week you’re here?’

  ‘Just two,’ she said. ‘All day Tuesday and Thursday. I missed this morning because I had an appointment, but as a rule I’m here from eight until four.’

  There was plenty we would be able to get done in that time and I felt my shoulders relax a little.

  ‘And if push came to shove,’ she went on, ‘I’d be happy to give up the occasional weekend.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ I said, thinking that I would definitely be taking her up on the offer ahead of the Winter Garden opening and wondering if any of the Grow-Well team could spare a few hours too.
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  I knew that Luke had said he didn’t like to ask them, but if it did get tight for time, I was sure they would help, Graham especially. I was feeling much better now we had talked the tasks through. I might not have had the formal qualifications Jackson would have preferred, but I did have the skills and experience. I could do this. I would do it, and what was more, I would do it well.

  ‘And is there anything you really enjoy doing in the garden and anything you absolutely hate?’ I asked Chloe.

  She shook her head. ‘I’m happy doing anything,’ she told me. ‘I come here for the exercise and the fresh air. This place has worked wonders for my mental health, so I’m happy to undertake whatever task you assign me.’

  Just as I thought, Chloe really did have a great can-do attitude.

  ‘I work as a teaching assistant at the local primary school the other three days of the week,’ she elaborated, ‘so you might even be able to talk me into some extra hours during the holidays.’

  I noticed she was wearing a wedding band.

  ‘And I can see you’re married,’ I said with a nod to her left hand. ‘Do you have any kids of your own?’

  Luke started gathering the dishes together and I felt my face go red. The older I got, the more often I had found myself being asked the same thing. Given how much I resented the sympathetic looks I received when I said no, I didn’t have any children, I felt awful for letting my mouth run away with me and asking the same thing of Chloe, especially when I noticed the look on her face.

  ‘No,’ she said, with a suddenly less than convincing smile, ‘no kids, and no husband actually. He died before we got around to it.’

  I didn’t know what to say but I wished Nell would start digging a hole in the floor for me to crawl into. That was the last time I was going to let my mouth overtake my brain.