Page 25 of Rough Around the Hedges

“Are you available next Thursday at two p.m.?”

I paused. “Do I have a week and a half to wait to discuss the time-sensitive closure of our allotment site? No, I do not. How about tomorrow?”

“His Grace is very busy, and I’m afraid that’s the next available appointment on his schedule.”

“His Graceis in breach of the contract between his estate and the committee, and I’m doing him a great favour by informing him personally rather than taking the legal action I’m entitled to,” I said sharply. “So, Mr Butler, assistant to the Duke of Hanbury, you can make me wait until next week—by which time your boss will have already received legal correspondence from our representative—or you can squeeze me in within the next forty-eight hours and we can attempt to resolve it amicably.”

He said nothing for a moment, and I wondered if he was going to tell me to go ahead and take the legal route.

That’s what I’d have done.

I was being quite rude, after all.

“Is this the best number to contact you on, Miss Matthews?” he asked coolly.

“Yes. If I don’t answer, it means I’m working, so leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”

“Very well. I will speak with His Grace and contact you shortly.”

“Thank you very much, Mr Butler.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, thanks. I look forward to speaking to you againverysoon.” I grinned and hung up, staring at my phone.

Now I understood why Isa said I could be scary sometimes.

6

OLIVER

Redheaded Lunatic

“Rose Matthews is insane. She’s been arrested three times: once for public intoxication, once for public fornication, and once in a case of mistaken identity. She also allegedly has a cell with her name on it for what the locals appear to call a ‘time out’ when her behaviour gets a bit too erratic.”

I pulled off my glasses and peered across the room at Luke. “There’s so much to unpack in what you just said that I’m not sure where to start.”

“Imagine how I felt finding this all out.” He tossed the envelope on the desk in front of me. “That’s not even the half of it. The Matthews family is practically the backbone of this village; her father, John, is former navy, former police, and together with his wife, Celine, owns a couple of properties on the high street, but it’s not much to write home about financially speaking. Rose joined her maternal grandfather’s gardening business when she graduated from university and worked with her mother until Celine fully handed it over to her daughter two years ago. She followed in that same grandfather’s footsteps as the head of the allotment committee after his passing. She’s generally loved by the people who live in and around the village, even if they do all think she’s a bit whacky. Rose’s relationshipwith your grandfather was tenuous at best, but they appear to have shared some mutual respect that stemmed from wanting the best for the allotment site. Both of them seem to have—or had—a close emotional tie to the place.”

“No wonder she looked at me as though she wanted to kill me when I told her I was closing it.” I sliced open the envelope and pulled out the information inside. “I rather feel as though I’m doing something illegal with a dossier of information on her.”

“Dossier is it a bit of a stretch, Your Grace,” Luke said, glancing at the envelope.

“I’ve told you not to call me that when we’re alone.” I sighed, putting my glasses back on so I could read what he’d given me. “You really weren’t kidding about why she was arrested.”

“Why would I lie about that?” Luke shrugged and dropped into the chair on the other side of the desk, cricking his neck after sitting down. “I’m telling you, Oli, this woman is two colours short of a rainbow. She’s going to be a nightmare to work with.”

I snorted, scanning the sheets as I flicked through them. “I expected as much. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would take my decision lying down, but I didn’t expect they’d be so passionate.”

“It’s just a community garden. This place is hardly short on green space. Why are they kicking up such a fuss?”

“Mm. Who knows? How is the search going for a replacement plot for the allotments?”

“About as well as your closure notice went down,” he replied. “I’m not sure there is land available with the right permissions, even within the estate.”

“Well, we just have to show we made a decent effort to relocate. I couldn’t care less if we actually do. I doubt this tinycommittee has the funds or insurance to take me to court over a reasonable effort.”

“You say that, but Rose was quite insistent that she’d send you a legal letter about your breaching the contract.”

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