Page 120 of He's the One

“James must have done it. Come and look at the summer house. But watch your step.”

As Theo closed in, he saw the water was still there but clogged with weeds. “Stay on the stepping stones. There’s a circular pattern of walkways around the summer house. But if you step on the wrong one, the slab tilts and you get soaked. We used to play here. I never made it to the centre without getting wet.” He chuckled. “But that was often deliberate.”

Col stepped onto a slab and it tilted but there was no jet of water. “This would be a great attraction for visitors. I can imagine kids luring unsuspecting parents into this. Are there any other places that have water mazes?”

“Hever Castle is the only one I know of.”

“Even more of a reason to make this a feature of Asquith, assuming it can be made to work again.”

Theo sighed. “Except it’s in the garden no one’s supposed to be in.”

“I’d love to straighten all this out, get the maze operational. It must be a series of switches that trigger pumps. It might work if the electric supply was restored.”

“It would be fun, but I don’t think I dare go against my father’s wishes. The garden is off limits.” Theo moved away from the maze and pulled weeds and creepers from a sundial. “I remember this too. Somewhere near here is a place where Felicity used to leave messages for the fairies. I wasn’t supposed to know where it was but I saw her one day.”

“Did the fairies answer?” Col joined Theo.

“I thought so, but now I think Piers must have been the one to reply, though he always denied it. Felicity was obsessed with fairies.”

Theo bent at the foot of one of the statues and dragged away the weeds. “She used to put the tin in a hidden place at the foot of this plinth.” He gasped. “The tin’s still here.” He pulled it out and stood up.

“Rusty but looks intact,” Col said.

Theo tried to pull it open but he couldn’t.

“Want me to try?”

Theo handed him the box.

Col managed to wrench it open and Theo could see a piece of paper folded up inside.

He took it out and unfolded it. The writing was faded but he read, “Sleep safe with your fairies, my darling girl. Love, Daddy. XXXOh God.”

Theo started to cry. Col took the note from him, folded it up and returned it to the tin before putting it back in its hiding place. Then he wrapped his arms around Theo.

“She was lovely,” Theo sobbed. “I miss her. I wish I’d never started to dig that bloody hole.”

“Hush,” Col pressed his lips to Theo’s head. “It was an accident. She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”

Theo wiped his eyes.

“Kids dig holes in the sand all the time. You were unlucky.”

“Whenever I see children on the sand, I panic. I want to tell them what happened, make them see how dangerous it can be.”

“Sand can be fun too.”

“I know.”

“I’m not sure that your father still wants no one to see in here. Remember what he said to me? That the folly has a secret. He also said he thought I might find it and when I asked if he wanted me to, he said,we’ll see.”

“You think we should tell him we found a way in?”

“Why don’t you ask James?”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Let’s get out of here. I’ll go first to make sure no one’s around.”

---