Page 55 of Rough Around the Hedges

“Oli—”

I waved him away. “Leave it, Luke. Let’s just go back. Don’t I have an early meeting tomorrow?”

He sighed. “Understood.”

“I thought you were in Bali doing some soul-soothing or whatever Luke said it was.”

My mother bit into the sugared doughnut she was wearing like a ring on her pointer finger and stared at me, chewing slowly. “I was in Bali. Now I’m here.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be there for two more weeks?”

“My flight got cancelled so I got one a couple of days early instead of needing to find alternative accommodation.” She dropped the doughnut onto the sofa, spreading powdered sugar everywhere. “Whoops.”

I sighed, covering my eyes with one hand. “Mum…”

“I’ll clean it up, I’ll clean it up.”

“Sometimes I wonder how you ever survived at all those fancy aristocratic dinners.”

“I’m a wonderful bullshitter,” she replied brightly, beaming at me. “Now, what kind of chaos are you causing here, dear son? I hear you’ve pissed off a Matthews.”

I peered at her over my fingers. “Are they so notorious that even you know of their madness?”

She tapped the tip of her nail against her cheek. “Is madness the best way to describe it?”

“Certifiable insanity, then?”

“Oliver, don’t be rude,” she said, glaring at me. “I raised you better than that.”

“If you say so.” I sighed and rubbed my temple. “How long are you staying for?”

“What do you mean, how long? Now that your grandfather is gone, I plan to stay here in Hanbury.”

I blinked.

Mum was going to do what now?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve always loved it here, but your grandfather and father falling out really killed my dreams of a quiet life in the countryside.”

“Youdreamt of a quiet life in the countryside?”

“Yes. It’s very quaint, isn’t it? It’s peaceful. I hear there’s going to be a big local market soon, and I’m quite excited for that.” She eyed me, losing her previous brightness. “Although, I am wondering what you did to get on the wrong side of the young Matthews girl.”

“Exactly how long have you been spying on me, Mother?”

“Since the day you were born.”

At least she was honest. “I’m closing the allotments, like I told you I planned to do. Rose is the committee chairman, and she’s very… let’s say, passionate.”

“Mm. Is she making your life difficult, dear?”

“Immensely so. Two days ago, I was forced to accompany her to a nursery to teach a bunch of kids about gardening and got called a rotten bastard by a five-year-old.”

Mum licked the sugar off her fingers. “It does seem they’re going to fight your closure. If Rose is anything like her grandmother or mother, I imagine she’s a very fierce opponent.”

“That’s one way of putting it. She’s really just a huge pain in my arse.”

“I see. It must be hard for you, what with adjusting to everything here and learning how to manage the estate,” Mum said softly. “All the more reason for me to stay here, then.”

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