Page 46 of The Allotment on Willow Tree Lane

‘That’s a shame. I could have asked the vicar to put your name down for one.’

He said, ‘I haven’t been to Foxmore in years. My husband and I used to do a lot of walking in the area, and Foxmore is the nearest place to Aran Fawddwy.’

‘I’ve hiked up that!’ Ceri exclaimed, remembering when Huw had persuaded her to scale the mountain’s steep flanks. Her thigh muscles and her knees had ached for days afterwards. ‘It’s a long way to the top.’

‘But the views are worth it,’ Mark said. ‘Have you been up Cader Idris?’

Ceri said she hadn’t, and Mark proceeded to describe the fantastic views from one of Wales’s highest peaks. She wouldn’t mind seeing them for herself, but she didn’t fancy the hike to the top.

Their chat came to an end when Portia, ironically, needed some help with the soil sampling kit, but at least Ceri felt she had got to know her head of department a little better. She could also report back to her matchmaking brother that the man was out of bounds on a second front: not only was Mark her line manager, but he was also married. What shewouldn’ttell Huw, however, was that she was going to dinner with Damon, because if she did she’d never hear the end of it. He would jump to the wrong conclusion and think it was a date, despite Damon making it clear that it was nothing more than a thank-you dinner.

Her eyes strayed to the little wooden gate separating the allotment from his garden, and as she strolled around the field, she found herself gravitating towards it.

Ostensibly, she appeared to be checking the pile of rich compost that she and Damon had dumped there, but in reality, she was hoping to catch a glimpse of him. To her disappointment, he was nowhere in sight.

‘Is it time for lunch yet?’ one of the boys asked, and Ceri checked the time, surprised to see that the kids had been working hard for a couple of hours. From what she had seen and heard, they were making good progress.

‘Shall we stop for a break?’ she announced to the group, equally eager to unwrap her sandwiches and have a coffee from the flask she had brought with her.

‘I haven’t got a drink,’ someone said. ‘Can I get one from the shop?’

She’d heard the kids pointing out the shops in the village as the minibus had trundled along the main street earlier, so she had half been expecting this. ‘Kyle, what did I tell you:don’t forget to bring a packed lunch, and plenty of water.’

‘I did, but I’ve drunk it all. See?’ He held up an empty bottle.

Ceri looked to Mark for direction, who shrugged.

‘I don’t see why not.’ He turned his attention to the students. ‘Make sure you’re back here by one thirty. I don’t want to have to send out a search party. And behave yourselves,’ he called after them, as the majority headed towards the gate and the village beyond.

‘I wasn’t sure whether I could let them go,’ Ceri said.

‘They’re a sensible bunch. And they’re not children, they’re young adults,’ he added, ‘although they don’t always act like it.’

With a final, worried look at her students’ retreating backs, Ceri sat down in the grass and took out her lunch. It wasn’t nearly as sumptuous as the picnic she had made for her and Damon, but she wolfed her sarnies down anyway. And as she ate, her gaze kept returning to the wooden gate and what lay beyond.

She couldn’t wait for tomorrow, and she wondered where he was taking her. Actually, she didn’t much care. The fact that she was going to dinner with him at all, was enough to make her pulse soar.

To her surprise and relief, all the students made it back to the allotment on time and in one piece. It seemed that some of them had found a fish and chip shop and had indulged in chips and curry sauce, and Portia and two of her friends had gone a bit more upmarket and had sampled the paninis in Pen’s Pantry, the bistro-style cafe on the green.

So much for Ceri telling them to bring a packed lunch!

‘Itwas,’ Portia was saying, as Ceri attempted to get the students to refocus on their assignment.

‘Itwasn’t,’ her friend, Eleanor, insisted. ‘As if someone like him is going to be hanging around a dump like Foxmore.’

Ceri blinked. Foxmore, adump? Hardly! The village was small, quaint and unspoilt. But maybe that was what her young charges didn’t like, preferring the bright lights of Dolgellau. Not that the town had many bright lights from what she had seen of it, but it was larger than Foxmore and boasted several bars, pubs and restaurants.

‘It was definitely him. I should know, I’ve seen them in concert,’ Portia argued.

Eleanor pursed her lips. ‘I don’t believe you.’

‘It’s true! Ididsee—’

Ceri called, ‘OK, guys! Can we get back to work, please? You’ve got an hour and twenty minutes to complete your observations, make any notes and take any photos you need. Don’t forget, this assignment will contribute to your overall qualification.’

Eleanor stuck out her chin. ‘But Portia said—’

‘Is it about the assignment?’ Ceri demanded.

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