The Winter Garden

by Heidi Swain

  The smell of smoke lingered in the cold night air and I shivered as I crossed the road back to the square with an even heavier heart before stopping to look at my lovely little home. Luke had left the hall light on which lit up the stained-glass panel above the door and the Christmas tree lights were twinkling too, which made the place even more idyllic and welcoming.

  I quickly stepped up to the door, before my emotions got the better of me, and turned my key in the lock.

  ‘I’m back,’ I called out to Nell as I stepped inside and realised that something was amiss.

  She barked in response and the broad bulk of Finn suddenly filled the sitting room doorframe.

  ‘And about time,’ he smiled, making my heart clatter against my ribcage. ‘Come and see what we’ve done.’

  Feeling numb, but not from the cold, I followed him into the sitting room, my eyes alighting on the biggest fire burning in the grate. Finn stood one side and Nell the other, both keen to claim a spot next to the heat which I could feel warming the room even though I was barely inside it.

  ‘Luke and I wanted it to be a surprise,’ Finn told me. ‘That’s why he’s had your keys for so long today. He told me what he was planning when I got back and we moved the sculpture and I said I’d give him a hand.’

  I looked from the bright flames to the pretty polished tiles, the brimming wood basket and the various accoutrements required to keep the home fire burning and then back to Finn again.

  ‘Do you like it?’ he asked, sounding less sure. ‘It is all right, isn’t it?’

  I tried to blink them away, but the effort was in vain and two fat, salt-laden tears rolled down my cheeks. They were quickly followed by a deluge.

  ‘Freya,’ said Finn, rushing across the room and taking my hand before leading me to the sofa. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’

  As soon as I was sitting, I let go of his hand. I didn’t want to remember what it felt like in mine if I wasn’t going to be able to hang on to it forever.

  ‘You left,’ I said, my voice barely audible as I tried to sniff and stem the long-unleashed flow. ‘You disappeared and then you messaged to say that Jackson had told you…’

  I couldn’t bring myself to verbalise what it was that my ex-employer had said.

  ‘Wait,’ Finn swallowed, reaching for my hand again and not letting it go even when I tried to pull away. ‘I don’t understand—’

  ‘I got your message,’ I said again.

  ‘But that’s impossible.’

  I wrenched my hand free and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

  ‘Here,’ I said, bringing up the text and shoving the screen under his nose.

  He took the phone and read what was displayed.

  ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ he choked, wide-eyed. ‘This is only the beginning of what I typed, and I didn’t even know my crappy phone had sent that!’

  He put my phone down and pulled out his ancient relic.

  ‘It’s dead,’ he said. ‘Finally gave up the ghost when I tried to text you and I haven’t had a chance to buy another. Not that I’d know what to go for.’

  I’d teased him plenty about his decrepit phone and his severely lacking tech skills. Why hadn’t I thought about that before? In my panic I’d latched on to the implications of the text I’d received suggested and never entertained the idea that what had landed on my phone wasn’t the whole story.

  ‘I had no idea the bloody thing had sent anything,’ Finn said again, sounding desperate. ‘I thought it had snuffed it before I pressed send.’

  ‘So, you haven’t seen any of my messages?’ I huskily asked.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘Not one. I spent ages typing out a really long message explaining what happened on Sunday night,’ he carried on. ‘I knew my phone would deliver it in parts, but I thought that would be okay. Or at least I did until it presented me with the black screen of death and no clue that any of it had been sent.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘After that, I decided I might as well wait to tell you in person because you were bound to appreciate the outcome.’

  ‘Which was?’

  ‘Basically, that I’d called Jackson a wanker and sent him away with a flea in his ear.’

  ‘You did what?’

  Finn looked at me intently. He was still frowning as it dawned on him that I had been through emotional hell during the last few days.

  ‘You’ve been thinking that I believed him, haven’t you?’

  ‘What else was I supposed to think, after that message landed on my phone?’

  ‘Oh, Freya! Of course, I didn’t believe him! I might not have known you long, my darling, but I know you better than that.’

  ‘I thought you’d gone because you didn’t want to see me,’ I said, more tears gathering. ‘I thought you believed that I was moving back to Broad-Meadows.’

  ‘Oh hell, Freya,’ he swallowed. ‘If I’d had even an inkling that something like this had happened, I would have got another phone, or called from a landline, or something. I didn’t even know you were aware that this Jackson idiot had been trying to stir up trouble.’

  ‘Chloe said she’d heard you arguing and I worked out who with,’ I sniffed. ‘So, where have you been?’

  ‘Never mind that,’ he said, chucking down his phone. ‘Come here, for pity’s sake.’

  I flung myself across the sofa and into his waiting arms.

  ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ I sobbed.

  ‘Of course, you hadn’t lost me,’ he said, squeezing me closer. ‘I’m so sorry any of this has happened.’

  ‘Don’t you apologise,’ I blubbed. ‘It was Jackson’s fault.’

  ‘I wished I’d laid him out when I had the chance.’

  I rather wished he had too.

  We stayed locked together, feeling the warmth of the fire and watching the flames lick up the chimney. With every breath I could feel my frozen heart thawing again, but that had nothing to do with the coals glowing in the grate.

  Eventually I sat up so I could look at him, but I didn’t move away and I didn’t let go of his hand either.

  ‘So, where were you then?’ I asked. ‘Where did you disappear to?’

  He softly kissed the back of my hand before answering.

  ‘Wynthorpe Hall,’ he said with a smile. ‘The Connellys have decided they want to push ahead with creating the sculpture trail through their woods and they’ve commissioned me to make a few of the pieces.’

  ‘Oh Finn!’ I said, throwing myself back into his arms. ‘That’s amazing! Congratulations.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he smiled. ‘I’m really pleased.’

  ‘And so you should be. What a perfect end to the year.’

  ‘It is rather, isn’t it?’ he said, ducking his head. ‘And being back with you again makes it even better. You do know now how much I love you, don’t you, Freya?’

  I felt an overwhelming rush of relief and was just about to tell him how much I loved him too, but he kissed me with such passion and conviction that the words were lost. I happily melted into his embrace and my world slipped seductively back into focus.

  Chapter 31

  Waking, wrapped in Finn’s warm and strong arms the next morning, it genuinely felt as though Christmas had come early. I looked at him briefly, taking in his features, softened by sleep, the tangle of his hair and the steady rise and fall of his chest, before closing my eyes, ready for sleep to claim me again, but they sprang straight back open the second I remembered.

  It might not have really been Christmas Day but it was as good as. It was finally time to open the Winter Garden and find out what the rest of the world, or at least a small part of it, thought of the horticultural efforts I, along with my team of two, had made since arriving in Nightingale Square just a few short weeks ago.

  I mentally ran through Luke’s plan for the day and then gently, and reluctantly, manoeuvred myself further from Finn’s warm reach.

  ‘No,’ he sleepily muttered, pulling me straight back agai
n, ‘just five more minutes.’

  ‘I can’t,’ I told him, ‘I need to get the garden ready.’

  ‘The garden is ready,’ he said, his eyes still closed. ‘Five minutes.’

  ‘There’s no time,’ I weakly protested, as he rolled on to his side and then on top of me. ‘I’ve got to do something with my hair.’

  I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that it was going to need some attention.

  ‘I’ll do it for you,’ said Finn, kissing me lightly on the lips.

  ‘Will you?’ I asked, my head instantly filled with that delicious hair washing scene featuring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, kissing me again.

  ‘In that case,’ I giggled, ‘let’s take ten minutes instead of five.’

  After a very seductive fifteen minutes, Finn was true to his word and tamed and plaited my tangled tresses in no time at all.

  ‘You can do this every morning,’ I told him as I admired his handiwork in the hall mirror as we were getting ready to leave.

  ‘That can be arranged,’ he smiled.

  The loose side braid he had nimbly created was boho heaven but perfectly practical in my line of work.

  ‘I can never reach right round the back,’ I said, squinting to get a better look. ‘My arms give up on me.’

  ‘We need to work on your upper body strength,’ he grinned.

  ‘No, we don’t,’ I said, clipping on Nell’s lead, ‘I’ll just take advantage of yours.’

  By the time we crossed the road from the square to Prosperous Place there was already quite a crowd gathered and when we dropped Nell in the kitchen, where she was going to spend the morning with Gus and the cats, the excitement was palpable.

  ‘When I looked out earlier,’ said Luke, who was doling out a cooked breakfast to Kate and the girls, ‘there were already a couple of people queuing.’

  ‘There’s more than that,’ said Finn, pinching a rasher of bacon from Jasmine’s plate and earning himself a stern glare in the process.

  ‘There’s nearer a dozen now,’ I said, pulling Finn away from Jas’s plate and into an empty chair.

  ‘Have you not come from the studio?’ Kate then asked Finn.

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘I came over with…’

  His words trailed off and his face turned bright red, as did mine.

  ‘You did have an early start,’ Kate grinned at us both.

  ‘No doubt you’ll be wanting breakfast then?’ Luke said teasingly, adding more bacon to the pan.

  ‘Yes,’ said Jas. ‘Finn’s really hungry, aren’t you?’

  ‘I have got a bit of an appetite this morning,’ he admitted.

  ‘I’m just going to do one last tour of the garden,’ I quickly swallowed.

  I did want to check that everything was as it should be, but I wanted to get out of the steamy kitchen too.

  ‘Everything’s perfect,’ Luke told me. ‘I’ve already been out and looked, so there’s no need.’

  ‘But even so,’ I said, heading for the door. ‘Just a quick check, won’t hurt, will it?’

  ‘Take this then,’ he said, thrusting a bacon roll into my hands, ‘and don’t start fiddling about with anything.’

  Practically everything was perfect, but I still wasn’t completely satisfied with the arrangement of the containers we were using to show off winter planting combinations for small spaces. Chloe and Hannah were in charge of sales and the plants had all come from a nursery near Wynbridge which was run by two women Finn had met through his friend, Jake.

  If sales were strong enough, we were planning to strike a deal which would mean we could set up something similar for each season, possibly with Graham and me heading up a container planting masterclass like the one he had organised for Winterfest. I refused to allow my mind to track back over that fateful day as I pulled everything out of place and then back into a much more satisfactory set-up.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Finn called.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said hastily stepping away.

  ‘The evidence on your clothes suggests that’s not quite true,’ he laughed.

  ‘Oh damn,’ I swore, when I looked down to find my jumper streaked with compost. ‘I’ll have to go back and change.’

  ‘You’d better be quick then,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘it’s almost time to open.’

  I would have been far quicker had he not come back with me and insisted that I really needed help stripping off and re-dressing to settle my nerves. We were out of breath when we rushed back again, which was slightly embarrassing, especially when I spotted two familiar faces in the queue.

  ‘Mum,’ I said, pulled up short by her appearance. ‘Dad. I wasn’t sure if you were still going to come.’

  The pair looked as impeccable as ever, but they were more casually dressed than usual. They were even wearing wellington boots, but not just any old wellies, of course. The matching Le Chameau boots they were sporting were way out of my price range and I was amused to see that they were completely spotless. Most likely fresh out of the box that morning.

  ‘I know we talked about today,’ I carried on, trawling back over our telephone conversations, ‘but I did wonder—’

  ‘We wanted to come and lend you our support,’ Dad cut in, kissing me on the cheek and neatly stopping me from mentioning Jackson as I lost sight of Finn in the crowd.

  ‘And I really wanted to come because I’m thinking about going back to my roots and doing a bit of gardening myself,’ Mum said.

  My eyes swivelled from searching for Finn back to her again.

  ‘I’m serious,’ she said, flushing a little as she took in my shocked expression. ‘I think it will do me good.’

  ‘In that case,’ I told her, ‘you need to come to the plant sales area when you get inside, unless you want to come in with me now?’

  ‘No, no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘We’re happy to wait. It’s nice listening to the buzz about the place along with everyone else.’

  I left them standing in line and went back inside.

  ‘What’s up with you?’ Finn asked, when he took in the look of shock Mum had picked up on too.

  ‘What’s up with you more like?’ I countered.

  He was looking bright red and wide-eyed himself.

  ‘Zak’s convinced Dad to come,’ he said, wringing his hands. ‘He’s out there with my step-mum. He wants to see what I’ve been working on.’

  It was a red-letter day for both of us then, but there was no time for an attack of the vapours because Luke was ready to let everyone in.

  Once the gate was open, the people who had been waiting so patiently rushed inside and congregated around the steps which led up to the main door of the house. Luke threaded his way through them, pulling me along with him. I had hoped I was going to get away with hiding in the background while he said a few words, but apparently not.

  He talked briefly about the house and his connection to it and then turned his attention to the renovation of the garden and the creation of the Winter Garden, reiterating all he had said on previous occasions about the importance of embracing nature and getting outside, even on the most bitter winter days.

  ‘As you walk around,’ he said, by way of introducing me, ‘please be aware that the garden is very much a work in progress. As all gardens are. That said, there’s already plenty here to delight the senses, and there will be more as the winter moves on, but Freya is more qualified to talk to you about that than I am, so I’ll hand you over.’

  Thankfully, plants were my forte and it didn’t take many seconds for my voice to stop shaking and for me to get into my stride listing everything to look out for that day as well as sharing the details of what would be popping up throughout the next few months.

  ‘And of course,’ I finished up, easily spotting Finn because he was so tall, ‘we also have the work of a very talented local artist to enjoy. I’ll hand back to Luke, to tell you more about that, and perhaps Finn cou
ld join us up here too?’

  Finn’s face was aflame as we passed each other and Zak could be heard whooping and cheering. I knew I was going to be in trouble later for forcing him to step up, but I was rather looking forward to that.

  ‘So,’ said Luke, once Finn had got everyone fired up with the promise of hidden dragons, ‘all that remains for me to say is that I hope you enjoy your first trip around the Winter Garden and that there are plants for sale near the garden office and mulled wine, soft drinks, along with homemade soup and pizzas available in the Grow-Well, so please stay as long as you can and don’t forget that we’ll be illuminating the garden at dusk.’

  Everyone cheered and began to disperse. Some people headed straight for the garden, while others peeled off to the Grow-Well. I opted for the garden, keen to eavesdrop on a few conversations and see if I could get a feel for what people thought.

  ‘Have you smelt this?’ was the first comment I heard and it made my spirit soar. ‘It’s so sweet!’

  I stopped and had a few words with the family who had discovered the sarcococca, which looked as good as it smelt.

  ‘I hope this is on sale?’ asked the guy who had smelt if first.

  I reassured him that we had a few plants in stock and then moved on, smiling to myself as I heard children squealing in the fern garden, no doubt having found at least one of Finn’s fabulous hidden dragons.

  And thinking of Finn.

  I could see him standing on the path ahead of me with his dad, step-mum and Zak. They were looking at the hares in the meadow lawn. I was just about to take a different path when Zak turned and gave me a thumbs up and Finn’s dad clapped his eldest son firmly on the back. It might not have been a particularly demonstrative moment, but it was a very definite seal of approval and I knew Finn would be thrilled. He might have found the strength to stick to his guns and follow his heart even without his father’s understanding, but I knew the man’s approval still meant the world to him.