Page 71 of He's the One

Luis laughed. “We’re doing an experiment. Digging breaks up the fungal threads in the soil, so plants lose the benefit of helpful organisms.Not digging means we allow natural relationships to flourish. The overall structure of the soil is preserved and plants grow better. That’s the theory.”

“And the downside?” Col asked.

“It needs a lot of compost.” Luis huffed.

Theo nodded. “A lot.”

“That’s the only disadvantage?”

“No-dig gardens don’t look tidy and Lord and Lady Wetherby like them to look neat.”

“My mother would have us combing the grass if we could. It’s a wonder any leaves dare fall on the property.Andwe have to rake the gravel.”

“You’re not to do that again.” Luis tried to hide a smile.

“I took full responsibility.” Theo blinked. “I had no idea I’d made those shapes. At least it could only be seen from upstairs in the hall.”

Luis rolled his eyes. He handed Col a fork. “You get the dig side this morning.” He pointed to an area where the plant matter was decaying on the surface. “Use a wheelbarrow to take the dead material to the compost pile, then turn over the soil. You might find the odd potato. If they’re not green or soft, toss them in a bucket.”

“Okay.”

As Col worked, he noticed Luis was keeping an eye on him, but this wasn’t a difficult job, just repetitive. Though he wished he had his gloves.

“I like weeds,” Theo called.

“Not when you have to pull them up,” Luis said.

“You have to admire their tenacity.” Col threw another pile of debris into the wheelbarrow. “A lot of them are good for the garden. I mean, they weren’t always weeds, were they? They were useful. Just because we no longer find them useful doesn’t mean they’re all bad.”

Luis smiled. “I agree. You’ll do fine here.”

Col went to empty the barrow and by the time he came back, Luis was on the other side of the garden, leaving him alone with Theo.

Theo smiled. “Did you know wild morning glory can lie dormant under the soil for fifty years? But once it takes hold, it goes nuts.”

Col wondered if Theo knew what morning glory was slang for.

“The flowers come out in the morning,” Theo whispered. “All bright and shiny. And the seeds of some varieties can get you rather over-excited. Apparently.”

Col glanced at him and Theo laughed.Yep, he knows.

Theo was planting onions. It was a big kitchen garden and well kept. Members of the public were walking round on the gravel paths and Theo was the one who spoke to them. Col kept his head down, partly so that he didn’t laugh. Theo had told one group of visitors that onions were an aphrodisiac and had been shown to enhance testosterone productionin males.

When the group had moved on, Theo added, “Studies have shown that fresh onion juice increases testosteroneandejaculation in er…male rats.”

Col did laugh at that.

At twelve, Theo downed tools and came over to him. “Ready?”

Col nodded. They put their tools back in the hut, washed their hands and headed towards the hall. The door to the portacabin was closed so Col hoped Frank was in there and not on the roof. Though Frank was allowed to park his car next to the portacabin and there was no vehicle in his spot. Col phoned Bez.

“Hi, Col. What’s up?”

“I need a favour. Are you on the roof?”

“Yes.”

“Frank or Andy up there?”

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