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

used to that Aga thing, and I wanted to practise. I’m afraid it’ll be the same meal tomorrow.’ Suddenly she looked panicked. ‘Unless any of them are vegetarian. They aren’t, are they, Sam?’

‘Not this time, Mabel, but that is going to happen, plus vegans, folk with food allergies. It’ll all come our way. Is that going to be alright?’

Mabel sat herself upright. ‘It’ll be a challenge, but I could do with knowing before the guests come if they have dietary requirements.’

‘Never fear.’ Tina dipped some thickly buttered bread into her stew. ‘It’s all on the application forms. When you need to know about dietary changes from the norm, I’ll tell you at least a week in advance.’

‘Thank you.’ Mabel finally tasted her own cooking, before showing her approval.

‘So are you ready for tomorrow?’ Bert passed Sam a bottle of beer.

‘As we can be. The new chickens are in and checking out the joint, the manor is spotless, Mabel has the food in hand, and the dig has been covered with protective tarpaulin while we wait to hear from Shaun about filming.’

Thea’s phone burst into life in her pocket. ‘Talking of which.’ Putting down her almost empty dinner, Thea raised an apologetic hand before wandering into the house and huddling down by the Aga.

‘Hi, Shaun, how’s it going?’

‘Are you sure you want to know?’

‘That bad?’

‘The JCB broke and we’re having to open the trenches by hand. Just teething troubles, but frustrating nonetheless. At least the lady of the manor has left us alone to crack on now we’ve agreed to only have three trenches and cover everything back up afterwards.’

‘You’re not too far behind though, are you?’ Thea hoped she didn’t seem too desperate.

‘Nothing we can’t claw back. Luckily Sophie, that’s Lady Hammett’s daughter, is proving a bit of a star when it comes to digging, which will help. How about your end? First guests tomorrow, isn’t it?’

‘Sure is. We’re ready for them, but I’m still nervous.’

‘I’m looking forward to being back there to see the place in action; and you obviously.’ He sighed. ‘I wish you were here. I could do with your company as well as your expertise.’

‘I wish I was too.’ Thea wrapped an arm around her chest. It felt ages since he’d cuddled her. ‘I have news from this end.’

‘What’s that then?’

Thea could hear the sound of a pint hitting a table. ‘Are you in the pub with the others?’

‘Yes and no. I’m in the pub; the others aren’t all here yet. We’ve got a few minutes.’

‘Right, well try not to react too openly to this.’

Edgy suddenly, Shaun said, ‘Go on then.’

‘We’ve been approached by Treasure Hunters. They want to film here.’

‘You’re kidding.’ Shaun got up and walked as far away from the bar as possible. ‘How did they hear about it?’

‘I have no idea. We haven’t gone public on the site yet.’ Thea was relieved he sounded more surprised than angry. ‘For now Sam has told them that you’d offered first, but that it was subject to timings. You will make it, won’t you?’

Twelve

September 7th

Tina felt embarrassed, and because no one else seemed to be, she felt awkward as well, as she followed Ann, Woody and Dave into Mill Grange’s drawing room.

Until she’d seen the people carrier, which had delivered them to the house from Tiverton Parkway station, creep up the narrow, sloped driveway that led from the road to the back of Mill Grange, Tina hadn’t realised how nervous she was at the prospect of sharing her new home with strangers.

Ann’s exclamations of how beautiful everything was as they strolled through the large double oak doors into the porch, with its original Victorian coat stand and iron boot scrapers, continued as she admired the collection of paintings along the corridor’s walls. Her appreciation of the sweep of the wooden staircase (which Tina had to admit was looking magnificent) was almost lost amid the teasing of the men, who were telling Ann she was born to be a lady of the manor rather than ‘Lady Bomb’.

‘Lady Bomb?’ Tina muttered to Sam through the video link on the tablet screen she carried, so he could virtually join them inside the manor.

Sam said nothing, but mimed the explosion of a bomb with his hands and a suitably expressive face.

‘Bomb disposal?’ she mouthed as they all settled onto the comfortable sofas and armchairs at the corner of the room. Sam nodded as the screen went blank and he disconnected the link, only to appear outside an open window, so he could be part of the group.

‘Tea, coffee? Something stronger?’ Tina was relieved to be able to fall into hostess mode, as requests for three large builder’s teas came her way.

As she headed along the square-tiled corridor to the kitchen, Tina could hear laughter behind her, as their guests teased Sam for being outside. She’d never heard anyone make light of his problem before. He didn’t seem to mind, but she felt put out on his behalf anyway.

Tina was glad to find Thea at the sink, scrubbing mud from her fingers with the help of a scouring pad and a generous squeeze of washing-up liquid.

‘I saw the people carrier arrive. What are they like?’

‘They laugh a lot.’

Thea’s eyebrows rose at Tina’s tone. ‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

‘Well yes, of course it is, but… I don’t know what I was expecting to be honest.’

‘I take it Sam still hasn’t told you what happened to make them come out of service?’

‘No, like I said, he thinks everyone should have the right to tell their own story, and I totally agree with that. It’s just – I don’t know. Suddenly the atmosphere’s wrong.’

‘Because we don’t know what brought them here?’

Tina took a tray from a rack in the corner and loaded it with mugs. ‘Not really, it’s more that I can’t shake the notion that we’re using them. These people have done things we’ll never know about, to keep people safe somewhere, and here we are using them as lab rats