Page 60 of Rough Around the Hedges

“Uh…” I blinked at it. “What?”

Eleanor looked down at her t-shirt. “There’s an enterprising pair of young lads selling them on the roundabout, so I asked the taxi driver to pull over and bought one from them before I arrived.”

“Yes, that’s Ewan and Tom. They grew up helping their nan with her plot, so Ewan designed a t-shirt to sell. But, uh… forgive me for asking, but why did you buy one?”

“Because that rotten son of mine is a bloody idiot.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” I clapped my hand over my mouth. “Whoops. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Eleanor threw her head back, laughing. “That makes this much easier. Please let me join your protest, Miss Matthews.”

“You… want to join our protest? Against your own son?” I waved a hand. “I really hope you don’t take this question the wrong way, but why would you do that? Even if you disagree with him, you have a vested interest in what he wants to do, don’t you? You’re still part of the Hanbury household, after all.”

She sighed, then checked her watch. “I understand your questions, but you’re running out of time, aren’t you?”

“Ah.” I glanced at her wrist when she tilted it towards me to make her point. “You’re right.”

“Why don’t I tell you on the way? I don’t have a car, and I got a taxi here, so if you don’t mind, I’ll join you in this delightful van of yours.”

That was the first time anyone had ever called Ramona delightful.

Maybe Eleanor de Havilland had a few screws loose.

Well, even if she did, she was in good company. I barely had any screws, much less loose ones.

“All right,” I said slowly, then closed the doors. “Jump in.”

She did just that while I got the rest of my things, and I climbed into the driver’s side a moment later.

“I grew up here in Hanbury,” Eleanor said after I pulled out of the driveway. “I actually knew your grandmother very well, and of course, I’m very familiar with the feud between your grandpa and the late duke.”

Who wasn’t? The tale of the beautiful woman who spurned a duke for a mere gardener was the stuff of legends around these parts.

I half expected someone to build a shrine to her one day.

“Oh, I know your mother, too, of course,” she added. “So, I am utterly unsurprised that my idiot son has such a fierce opponent in yourself.”

Was that a compliment?

Whatever it was, it was an insult to Oliver, so I’d roll with it.

Eleanor sighed. “I’m sure I don’t need to recount any tales of the de Havilland family drama with you, but you should know that I was the one person in my family who got along with Rupert. My husband and son were largely raised outside of Hanbury thanks to the family business being headquartered in London, and so, they don’t have the same attachment to Hanbury nor its community as the rest of us do.”

I glanced over at her. “Including yourself?”

“Indeed. My grandmother once had a plot on that allotment site, you know. I remember many afternoons as a child where I would join her to pick her strawberries and raspberries. Most left in my belly, of course.” She chuckled. “My dear, I supposewhat I’m trying to tell you is that I’m on your side. I’ve opposed Oliver’s decision to sell that land from the very beginning, and that hasn’t changed. I know very well how that place is the heart of the village, and you’re doing wonderful things, what with your calendar and all that. Not to mention your delightful social media account. The Polyamorous Adventures of Pancake, is it?”

I coughed into my fist and quickly changed gear. “Waffles. Pancake is his first wife.”

“Ah, Waffles! Of course. My mistake.” She laughed again. “I’ve spent a shameful amount of time reading that particular saga on Instagram, and that’s how I found out about the calendar. Anyway, all of this is to say that my son is a bloody fool, and I cannot stand idly by while he makes such a stupid decision.”

“So… you’re on our side.”

“Exactly that!”

I pulled into the allotment car park and killed the engine. It was already bustling here, and the committee members were running around like blue-arse flies trying to organise everyone. Shaun was dressed in his uniform and trying to control the human traffic as part of the local police force, while Isa was handing out protest signs to those in line and glaring at him occasionally.

“Goodness,” Eleanor said, peering out of the window. “There are so many people here.”

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