The Winter Garden

by Heidi Swain

  ‘God no,’ he laughed. ‘Sorry,’ he quickly carried on, ‘if you knew my father, then you’d know why I’m laughing.’

  ‘You said you worked for him.’

  ‘That’s right. The day after I left school at sixteen, he had me working full-time on a building site and I’ve been laying bloody bricks ever since. Sorry, Jas,’ he added as his profanity earned him a frown. ‘It was always my dream to go to art college, but Dad wouldn’t hear of it. He said I needed to learn a proper trade. That messing about with paints and canvases wouldn’t put food on the table.’

  ‘Supportive then?’ I said, taking another sip of wine and thinking how comfortable and relaxed Jasmine looked. Her eyelids were beginning to droop.

  ‘He’s old school,’ said Finn. ‘What you’d call a man’s man and my half-brother is a chip off the old block.’

  ‘But not you?’

  ‘No, not me.’ He sighed. ‘I take after my mum.’

  ‘So how come you’re here?’ I asked. I wanted to find out the rest of his story now. ‘Making sculptures from scrap is a big leap from paints and canvases and laying bricks.’

  ‘It’s taken me a while to get here.’

  ‘Go on.’

  He shifted to get more comfortable and I handed him his glass because he couldn’t reach it.

  ‘Dad didn’t know it,’ he continued, ‘but I always had it in the back of my mind that I’d go to college once I’d qualified as a builder and even though a few years passed, I was still determined not to give up on my dream, that is until I went to a couple of college open days. I wasn’t there long before I realised how out of place I looked, how much older than everyone else I suddenly was.’

  ‘What, even the mature students?’

  I knew that plenty of people returned to education or had career changes.

  ‘At the ages I was, I seemed to kind of fall in-between,’ he frowned. ‘Too young for the mid-life lot and definitely too old for the rest.’

  ‘So, what happened after that?’ I asked, leaning a little closer in my eagerness.

  ‘I carried on doing various bits and pieces at home, and then one day we were helping this couple clear out a garage ahead of building an extension. We were filling skip after skip and I realised what a waste it was, sending it all to landfill just because it was unwanted or no longer fit for its original purpose.’

  He looked at me and I nodded for him to continue.

  ‘I took a few things home and reimagined them into something else. Took them apart and then put them back together in a totally different way.’

  ‘I see,’ I said, as the pieces began to fall into place.

  ‘It was a complete fluke that Luke happened to see one of the pieces I’d made. He’d come to talk to Dad about some work we were doing here and arrived as I was moving it around in the garage.’

  ‘Your dad was a bit miffed about that, wasn’t he?’ said Luke, as he came back into the room and caught the thread of conversation.

  ‘Yeah,’ grinned Finn. ‘He was embarrassed, I think. His idea of what I should have been spending my free time doing wasn’t quite the same as his.’

  ‘But I could see that Finn had a real talent and a passion that wasn’t going to be fulfilled in a tiny corner of his garage at home,’ Luke told me, ‘so, after we got to know each other a bit better, I offered him the studio here to work in and a commission to go with it.’

  ‘When I told Dad,’ Finn carried on, ‘he went nuts.’

  ‘So, we turned the space above the studio into a flat,’ said Kate, joining us again, carrying with her a delicious smell and cheeks flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

  ‘And now,’ said Finn, bringing me up to date, ‘I’ve just moved in.’

  ‘And are you still working for your dad?’ I asked. ‘Or have you fallen out completely?’

  ‘He’s still not come around to the idea, but we’re not completely estranged,’ he said, wrinkling his nose. ‘I would love to make a full-time living from the sculptures, but for now I’m working as a builder by day and in the studio at night and during the weekends. I don’t want to fall out with the family so I’m trying to juggle things and I’m so grateful to you two,’ he added, turning to Kate and Luke, ‘for giving me this opportunity.’

  I raised my glass to the pair of them too.

  ‘I’d like to add my gratitude to Finn’s, if I may?’ I smiled. ‘You’ve given me an amazing opportunity too. Thank you both so much.’

  ‘That’s one thing we do have in common,’ said Finn, smiling at me and making me blush.

  ‘That and really, really long hair,’ said Jasmine, who was suddenly wide awake again. ‘Did you bring my present, Finn?’

  Finn’s present turned out to be a tiny cat made from clock mechanisms and cogs. When you turned a key, its tail moved and its ears twitched.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ I whispered, as I admired the intricate detail and wondered how hands as large as Finn’s could create something so delicate. ‘How have you managed to give it so much personality?’

  ‘Like I said,’ grinned Luke, ‘he’s an artist.’

  ‘This one is Violet,’ said Jasmine, holding it up and turning it from side to side so she could examine all the details. ‘I’ve already got Dash.’

  I knew those were the names of the family’s two cats and wondered if Finn might one day fashion something that would resemble Nell for me.

  ‘I never would have believed hands the size of yours could create something so tiny, Finn,’ I said, my cheeks burning even brighter the second I had verbalised my thoughts.

  ‘Oh, I’m pretty dextrous,’ he smiled, making my temperature soar.

  ‘Right,’ said Kate, ‘supper is ready.’

  ‘I’m going to get ready for bed,’ announced Jasmine.

  ‘Make sure you put Violet on a high shelf, won’t you?’ said Finn. ‘Abigail mustn’t be able to reach her.’

  ‘I know,’ said Jasmine, giving him a hug. ‘Thank you, Finn.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ he said, hugging her back.

  Supper was a tasty risotto made with vegetables from the Grow-Well and topped off with generous shavings of pecorino cheese. Luke offered more wine to accompany it and by the time I’d finished I could have fallen asleep.

  ‘That was delicious,’ I said. ‘Thank you, Kate.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ she said. ‘It was no bother. Just the sort of cooking I like at the end of a busy week.’

  She and Luke wouldn’t let either Finn or me help tidy away.

  ‘Why don’t you go and get Nell?’ Luke suggested. ‘And then you won’t have to worry about rushing back.’

  ‘But what about your early start?’ I reminded him. ‘I don’t want to keep you up.’

  I wasn’t sure how Nell would cope with seeing Finn, although I supposed she would have to meet him again at some point and perhaps being away from the studio, she wouldn’t make the connection between the big bear of a bloke and the bawling voice.

  ‘Like Kate said before, getting up early is par for the course with kids,’ Luke shrugged. ‘We’re used to it.’

  Finn was back on the sofa when I returned with Nell and he kept his voice soft and quiet as I led her over. She gave his slowly outstretched hand an exploratory sniff and then turned her attention to the fire. Finn looked at me and shrugged and I felt relieved that I wasn’t going to have to worry about keeping the pair apart.

  By the time I looked back at Nell, which was really no time at all, the cats had found her, probably because she was in their spot. Dash quickly curled up against her side and Violet pinned her down and gave her a very thorough wash.

  ‘Right,’ said Luke, ‘as that’s all settled, come and have a look at what I found in the attic.’

  Spread out on the table in what I guessed was the formal, if somewhat chilly, dining room, were a set of plans. They were rather creased and battered but they were definitely the garden and in the corner was the name of a long since dead designer.
From what I could make out, they had been drawn up to show the original hard landscaping features rather than planting schemes.

  ‘I’m guessing,’ said Luke as he pointed various sections out, ‘that these are the points where there were once sculptures in the garden.’

  ‘Yes,’ I agreed, squinting to see the detail as the light wasn’t all that bright. ‘I think you’re right. This definitely isn’t a soft landscaping plan. It would look completely different if it was defining a planting scheme or something, and here look,’ I pointed, ‘this must be the bandstand next to the river.’

  The building was rather grand for the size of garden, but I could imagine Luke’s philanthropic ancestor hosting concerts there throughout the summer and inviting everyone along to enjoy them, including his workers.

  ‘Have you got your mobile with you, Finn?’ I asked. ‘I’ve left mine in the other room.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said, pulling something that resembled a small brick out of his pocket.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I was going to ask you to shine your torch on the key in the corner so I could decipher it.’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘No can do, I’m afraid. This thing is pretty ancient. It doesn’t have a torch.’

  ‘So, I see,’ I laughed. ‘Never mind.’ I turned my attention back to the design. ‘Look at this bit here, the fern garden originally ran much further than it does now. That line there is the wall.’

  ‘You seem to know what you’re talking about, Freya,’ said Finn, his voice surprisingly close to my ear. ‘You clearly know your way about a garden design. I haven’t had a chance to ask you about your work yet.’

  I stood up straight. ‘I’ll fill you in another time,’ I told him, keeping my eyes on the table. ‘Not that there’s much to tell.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Kate who, having checked on the girls, now joined us, ‘I think we all have a tale to tell.’

  I wasn’t sure I would call a broken engagement, my parent’s disapproval, the death of a friend and arguable dognapping, a tale as such, not that I would actually be sharing very much of that with Finn.

  ‘Well, I’ll look forward to it,’ Finn smiled, making my stomach feel as though it were filled with butterflies even though we were well beyond summer, ‘whatever it is.’

  Luke cleared his throat and we turned our attention back to the plans. He explained that he didn’t want to replicate what had been on display before. Using Finn’s modern sculptural pieces would allow him to stamp his own sense of style on the place, but we might want to consider utilising a couple of the garden’s focal points, such as the end of the herbaceous border.

  ‘And what about the dragon trail?’ asked Finn. ‘Have you thought anymore about that?’

  ‘The dragon trail?’ I frowned.

  ‘Yes,’ Luke grinned. ‘As Norwich has great historical connections with dragons, Kate and I thought it would be fun if Finn could make some smaller dragon sculptures, ten or so, to dot around in the garden, for people to find and record on a map.’

  ‘Oh, I like the sound of that,’ I said, imagining them peeping out from hidey holes in the fern garden. ‘It will definitely add an element of fun to the garden. The only dragon I’ve come across so far is the pub, and I haven’t made it inside there yet. I’ll have to do some reading up.’

  ‘And do crack on with making them, Finn,’ said Luke, answering his question, ‘they’re a definite yes. I got the trail idea from a family trip to a winter wonderland at Wynthorpe Hall near Wynbridge last Christmas,’ he then elaborated.

  ‘Amongst other things,’ said Kate, with a wry smile.

  ‘Oh?’ Finn and I said together.

  ‘I know that place,’ said Finn. ‘What was it that inspired you, Luke?’

  ‘All will be revealed tomorrow,’ our boss mysteriously said. ‘I’m going to talk to everyone in the Grow-Well after lunch. There’s a working party happening in the morning to have an autumnal tidy-up.’

  I didn’t think that would take long. Everything had looked pretty pristine to me.

  ‘And I’ll be sharing my ideas after that.’ Luke grinned again.

  ‘More ideas!’ I laughed.

  ‘Oh, he’s full of them,’ said Kate.

  ‘And all of them are brilliant,’ Luke beamed.

  I wasn’t sure if Kate agreed, but Finn and I looked at each other and carried on laughing, each of us obviously keen to discover what our kind employer had lined up for us next.

  Chapter 9

  As drowsy as I had felt, relaxed from the wine and cocooned in the warm and comforting rooms at Prosperous Place, the walk back across the road to the square in the crisp, chill air woke me back up and I found it impossible to fall asleep straightaway.

  I lay in bed with Nell curled up next to me and let my mind explore everything that had happened during the last week. Was it really just a week ago that I had spent my last night at Broad-Meadows?

  As the pipes creaked throughout the house, I realised how quickly I was settling into my new abode, how many friends I had made in such little time, how in love I was with the garden and my new job and my unexpectedly warm feelings for Finn. So far, he had turned out to be the biggest and most overwhelming surprise of all. I wondered what Peter would make of that. It was certainly a speedy change of opinion on my part.

  I was pleased Peter and I had parted on good terms and that I had been able talk to him, even if it was through a screen. Since I had lost Eloise I had struggled with the overwhelming sense of loss. My grief, for a while, had touched the very core of me and I needed a friend to turn to, albeit a long-distance one. Had Jackson been another man, I might have turned to him, but he was the polar opposite of his benevolent relative.

  I was exceedingly grateful to now have kind folk I could talk to nearby, even if none of them were privy to what it was in my past that had led me to Nightingale Square. I felt a lump form in my throat as I acknowledged that Eloise was no longer my present or my future.

  ‘Goodnight, Eloise,’ I said, to the framed photograph of the two of us which stood on the nightstand. ‘I’m sorry I can’t be with you tomorrow.’

  It was going to feel strange not going to visit her at the church, but I knew she would understand. After all, she was the one who had sent the sign and led me to this special place.

  * * *

  I didn’t make it over the road early enough to help with the Grow-Well tidy up the next morning, because I had to do some shopping, but I did arrive in time to meet the rest of the team before Luke’s announcement. Lisa reckoned I was looking even more bewildered once I’d added another few names to the mental list I was already struggling with, and she solemnly promised to set her kids to work making name badges for everyone to help me out.

  ‘So, how are you settling into my old house?’ asked Harold, who had arrived on his mobility scooter just after me. ‘Have those pipes been giving you a scare in the middle of the night?’

  When I thought of some of the noises and whisperings I had been subjected to at Broad-Meadows, not all of them plucked from my imagination to frighten Jackson, I knew it would take a bit more than just creaky plumbing to spook me.

  ‘Very, very well,’ I told Harold, ‘and thanks to your note, explaining what the noises are and when to expect them, they haven’t given me too much bother.’

  ‘Well, that’s good,’ he nodded. ‘And have you got everything you need?’

  I knew it must have been a wrench for him to leave so many of his possessions behind and his gentle enquiry confirmed it.

  ‘I have, thank you and I’m very grateful to you for letting me have use of your lovely things. I’m looking after them all, I promise.’

  ‘I don’t doubt it, my dear,’ he said, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.

  ‘And how are you settling in?’ I asked.

  ‘Just grand, thank you,’ he said, his tone much brighter. ‘Although there’s never a moment’s peace.’

  I could completely empathise with him t
here.

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Yes, it’s either come and play dominoes here, or let’s go and have a singsong there. Sometimes I have to pretend I’m not in,’ he laughed, sounding like a much younger man.

  I was pleased the move had suited us both so well.

  ‘I had to creep out just now,’ he confided. ‘If anyone had heard me, I’d have been roped into helping set up tonight’s bingo!’

  We laughed together and I looked up just in time to see Chloe arrive with Finn. He bent to say something to her and she threw back her head in response and laughed so loudly, the sound carried all the way to where I was standing with Harold.

  Considering Chloe had said she’d never met him before, they certainly seemed to have bonded with lightning speed. But then, for all I knew, perhaps that was how the god of thunder rolled when he found a woman he liked the look of.

  ‘If you’ll excuse me, Harold,’ I said, quickly banishing the flash of green I felt must have been lighting up my eyes and which took me completely by surprise, ‘I need to check on Nell.’

  I soon found her and she looked happy enough, initiated into the gang which included both the Prosperous Place cats and Gus. For a previously solitary creature, she was swiftly finding her feet and I was pleased to see them all asleep out of the chilly breeze in the bothy. Even if the sight did make me feel irrationally redundant.

  ‘So how do you cope with it then, Freya?’

  I hadn’t realised anyone had been talking to me and turned to find Graham standing close by.

  ‘Sorry,’ I said, tuning back in, ‘I missed that, Graham. How do I cope with what?’

  ‘The changing seasons,’ he said, turning up the collar of the coat which had replaced his gilet now it had turned colder. ‘Do you find the long, grey days a bit of a mood killer?’

  I thought about it for a moment before answering.

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘I can’t say that I do, but that’s probably because I’m always outdoors. If anything, grey days are generally dry days and that means I can carry on with my work without having to dig out the waterproofs. As long as it’s dry, I don’t always notice what the sky looks like.’