Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

The squeak of the walled garden’s gate indicated the arrival of Thea and Tina. Walking slowly, they carried a chicken house between them, ready for Mill Grange’s newest residents.

‘Poor Gertrude looks confused.’ Tina sidled crabwise into the sectioned-off area of the coop, with Thea following. Gently they lowered the wooden house into place.

‘Gertrude often looks confused.’ Sam spoke with affection. ‘I think the behaviour of human beings is a constant mystery to her.’

‘And me.’ Thea surveyed the divided run. ‘Do you think that’ll be enough room for them?’

‘Short term it’ll be okay. Tomorrow I’ll start work on converting more of the garden into a bigger run.’

‘I hope they like each other.’ Tina fixed up a second food tray and water bowl.

‘They’ll bicker for a bit, but then they should be fine.’ Sam checked his watch. ‘The new brood will be here soon. Let’s leave this lot here to get used to the fence and head up to the drive. We’ll never hear the farm van from down here.’

*

‘What do you mean, the JCB won’t work?’ Shaun ran an exasperated hand through his hair.

The driver shrugged. ‘It was fine yesterday. But I can’t get the digging arm to shift. I don’t understand it.’

‘We only need one more trench uncovered.’

‘One or twelve, it makes no difference. It won’t move. Something’s jammed it good and proper. We’ll need to send it back to the depot and bring out a new one.’

‘Where’s that?’

‘Truro.’

‘Oh hell. That’s miles. It’ll be quicker to do it by hand.’

‘Then that’s what you’ll have to do, m’andsome.’ With a second unhelpful shrug, the driver climbed into his cab and started the engine.

The beep of the vehicle’s reversing sensor caused everyone to turn in Shaun’s direction, including Phil, who immediately ran over. ‘What the hell is going on? Why aren’t we filming him uncovering the trench?’

‘JCB’s broken; the arm won’t move.’

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Phil scowled after the retreating digger. ‘How long to do it by hand?’

‘Three hours minimum. Quicker than waiting for a replacement vehicle from Truro though.’

‘Do it. And talk about it on camera. You know the sort of thing, make it work for us. “The hazards of modern technology and returning to traditional methods” and all that. Tie it into something about churches and other buildings being built by hand in the past, and the fact that we use machines now, but that doesn’t mean we do it better.’

‘Gotcha.’ Shaun beckoned to the team to gather round.

Sophie was at his side first. Despite her underhand method of getting the team to Guron House, Shaun couldn’t deny her keenness.

‘Right, everyone, the JCB is broken, so we need to peel back the turf and topsoil ourselves. Now I don’t need to tell you what delicate work this is and, more to the point, to remind you that Lady Hammett has requested the turf is put back once we have finished.’

There was a collection of groans from the team of seasoned archaeologists, but Sophie beamed. ‘Won’t that be better? More precise, giving us less chance of missing any little finds near the top?’

‘Not really, Sophie. It will slow the dig down and decrease our chances of getting to the end of the excavation on time.’ Shaun raised his voice so everyone could hear. ‘Grab your shovels and be careful. I’m going to do some voiceover work while you clear, so no chatter for the time being. Don’t forget the turf needs to come off in clean squares so it can be fitted back together.’

This time the groan was louder as Shaun added, ‘And I will need the turf lined up precisely next to the trench, parallel to where it came from, so we can get it back as best we can.’

‘Wouldn’t the JCB have ruined the turf anyway?’ Sophie cheeks pinked as she asked the question, only to be answered by a sea of shaking heads.

‘The digger lifts it cleanly in long rolls. Your mother is not going to be impressed by this.’

‘Oh.’

*

Climbing up the scaffolding observation tower that overlooked the site, Shaun examined the unfolding trench. Trying not to wince at the mangled state of much of the turf, telling himself a broken JCB wasn’t his responsibility, he focused on the excavation.

The original trench they’d put in after studying the geophysics results was already mercifully clean. The three archaeologists working on it had made good progress, and it was obvious from the two connecting walls before them that they were definitely uncovering a pre-Norman structure. Made of large facing stones, and filled with rubble to provide the strength, the visible corner was slightly rounded, rather than squared off, like Norman walls.

As he’d predicted, there was a lack of finds, but there was no doubt the site was a good example of eleventh-century architecture. Running his gaze from the exposed walls, which Shaun suspected formed the outer left wall of the church – if it was a church – he followed the site, keeping the survey results in his mind’s eye. The new trench was being placed in the hope of finding the opposite outer wall and the tower, thus confirming the ecclesiastical nature of the site. ‘If it’s ever bloody well uncovered.’

He spotted Sophie’s bright yellow hair as, her back bent, she worked backwards over the pegged-out area. She was smiling, her grin lighting up her face. Shaun watched as she pushed her shovel into the turf, working just as hard as her companions. Not something he’d have believed of the spoilt little rich girl who’d almost scuppered the whole enterprise.

*

Mabel looked nervous. It wasn’t something anyone was accustomed to seeing as they sat wrapped in blankets under the stars, tucking into bowls of beef stew and fresh bread.

‘Is it alright?’

‘Delicious.’ Thea was the first to empty her mouthful enough to answer, while Bert, Sam and Tina nodded emphatically while chewing. ‘Really, Mabel, it is wonderful. Thank you for doing this tonight. You didn’t need to.’

‘I know, but I’m not