Page 108 of The Garden of Forgotten Wishes
I really, really,neededto talk everything through with her!
‘But then I’ll come and help in the garden,’ I promised.
‘You don’t have to.’
‘Try and keep me away!’ I said, and he laughed.
The sky looked like darkest indigo velvet, speckled with silver sequins, quite beautiful. And mylifewould be quite beautiful, too, if only I didn’t have a big, fat, horrible secret squatting like a spider in the middle of it.
33
Unforgotten
I got to the supermarket in Great Mumming just as it opened and filled my trolley up with staples. Toller’s were good for extras, treats and things I’d run out of, but their prices meant I couldn’t afford to do all my shopping there – or not unless Ned suddenly doubled my wages, which was highly unlikely.
I bought sushi and fresh cream doughnuts for lunch, though if Treena didn’t fancy hers I’d probably manage both … Overnight, I appeared to have switched from no appetite, to comfort eating.
Treena had only just got back to the cottage when I arrived, after a night on duty at Happy Pets. There’d been an emergency admission late in the evening and a couple of pets recovering from operations. She was exhausted, but still feeling wired and not at all sleepy.
An early lunch of sushi and doughnuts, washed down with coffee, seemed to be exactly what she needed and over it, I told her how Ned and I had found Elizabeth Grace’s letter last night and about the later alarms and excursions up at the dig.
‘It was very late by then, so Luke must have been fast asleep, because there was no sign of him,’ I said. ‘But I expect Steve’s told him all about it by now and I shouldn’t think Wayne and his friends will try that one again.’
‘Are you positive it was Wayne?’
‘I don’t think there’s much doubt,’ I said, with a sigh. ‘I keepmeaningto tell Ned I’m related to the Vanes, but the moment never seemsright – and every time I do screw my courage up, Wayne does something else dreadful.Andhe was hinting to Ned on Wednesday that he knew something about me that Ned didn’t. Only Ned thinks he must have found out about that loopy resignation letter.’
‘But hecouldbe right about that and the Vanes haven’t guessed who you are,’ she said hopefully. ‘And Saul only talked to you in the garden that time because Wayne had shown interest in you and he wanted to suss you out.’
‘And pigs might fly,’ I said. ‘No, I keep trying to stick my head in the sand, but it’s not really working.’
Then I looked up and said, despair suddenly welling up, ‘Oh, Treena, Ned and I’ve been getting on so well together and having such fun working in the garden! It’s just like old times, when we were at college.’
‘What, when you were just good friends?’ she said disbelievingly.
‘Well … no, perhaps we’ve grown a bit closer than that,’ I admitted. ‘But once he knows who I really am, that’s all bound to go totally pear-shaped.’
‘Maybe not. I mean, you can’t exactlyhelpbeing related to the Vanes, can you?’
‘No, but if he dislikes the idea of having adistantVane ancestor so much, then he’s hardly going to …’
‘Welcome you into the family with open arms?’ she suggested with a grin.
‘What on earth do you mean?’ I demanded. ‘As far as the Grace family tree is concerned, I’m barely a bud on the smallest twig.’
‘Oh, come on! Even Luke could see that you and Ned have fallen for each other and he’s usually totally unaware of that kind of thing.’
‘I’m sure you’re wrong and Ned only thinks of me as a good friend, and now a close ally in the restoration of the garden … and that’s fine by me. I don’twantanything else,’ I said firmly.
‘Yeah, right!’ she said.
‘And you’ve some need to talk, Treena, because you and Luke—’
‘Are in a relationship,’ she said calmly. ‘I did say we were going out together and now … well, we’ve just sort of slid into something thatmight turn out to be more. But it’s early days yet and I don’t want to rush into anything. He’s coming over Monday night to stay,’ she added, slightly ruining the effect of this declaration. ‘He’s decided to close the dig on Tuesdays, now he knows everything else in Jericho’s End is shut then.’
‘Good idea,’ I said, leaving it vague about which I meant – the sleepover or the closing day.
‘Some of the volunteers can only come at weekends, so it wouldn’t have been logical to have their one day off then.’
