Chapter 17
Abigail turned off the single-track country road fringed by open farmland. Passing through the open wrought-iron gates, she glanced at the two red-brick gatehouses, which looked like small, single-storey cottages, on either side of the main entrance. She’d seen them the previous day when Joss had driven her there on their first outing in Penelope. He hadn’t known where Somerville Hall was, although he’d heard of it, but he’d used his phone as a Satnav to get them there. His uncle had been head gardener at the Hall for many years before his retirement.
On the way, Joss had asked what her interest was in the hall. She’d told him about filling in for her sister, who worked as a cleaner there, but was off sick. She’d explained that she was starting on Monday, so she wanted a practice run so she knew where it was and wouldn’t get lost or be late on her first day.
Abigail decided not to mention the other thing; that she was after getting inside and having a snoop around the home of the Somervilles. What she hoped to find in relation to Toby’s connection to the Somervilles was anyone’s guess. Gerald was right: if she wanted any answers, her first port of call should be Toby’s family. Abigail was avoiding them. She wanted to see them; she got on quite well with them. The trouble was that seeing his family would just make her feel worse – if that were possible. They were just a reminder of him.
The previous day, she and Joss had arrived at the gates but had not ventured up the private drive. They’d had no business to. Joss had turned the car around and asked Abigail if she wanted to drive back. She had, with much crunching of gears and lurching forward until she got the hang of the car. It was like nothing she had ever driven before in her life. It was a little scary, driving without power-assisted steering – her parking was going to be terrible – and ABS brakes. Anticipating was the order of the day, and leaving a huge gap between Penelope and the car in front, because slamming on the brakes would not bring the old Beetle to a complete stop very quickly at all.
Abigail drove up the long, winding private drive. The house slowly came into view after a mile. It was just as she had imagined it would be, a dignified, typically English, veryDownton Abbeytype of house, but smaller, more compact, and in a much prettier setting. There were orchards of apple trees, wild gardens, and formal gardens. And that was just what she could see at the front. In contrast, as she drove around the side of the house to the staff car park, which was out of sight, there was flat grazing land, with sheep, deer, and even a couple of llamas wandering free.
Abigail drove into a parking space behind some outbuildings and parked the car at an odd angle – although not intentionally. She looked at the time on her phone and decided against trying to straighten the car, which would involve driving in and out of the parking space multiple times. Not having power steering was a pain. Despite her initial reservations about going out on her own in an old vehicle, in case it broke down, it hadn’t taken long for her to grow quite fond of the bright orange Beetle, even if the colour wasn’t quite to her taste.
She opened the car door and got out. Looking about her, Abigail had no idea where the staff entrance was or where she could find the housekeeper. Somerville Hall was much bigger than she had expected. Now she wished she’d asked Lili to come and pick her up and take her into work, rather than driving here herself.
As if a guardian angel was looking down on her, listening, a familiar van turned into the small staff car park. She recognised the motif – The Potting Shed – immediately.
Abigail ran over as soon as Lili had parked the van, ecstatic to see her. ‘You’ll never guess …’ she said, smiling at Lili’s surprised expression. ‘I’m working here.’
Lili got the wrong end of the stick. ‘You’re helping me out? Great. I could do with all hands on deck. I’m starting on quite a big project and—’
‘Ah. No, I’m not here to get my hands dirty. Well, I might, but it won’t be in the garden.’
‘Huh?’
Abigail explained why she was there, and that she would have phoned and told Lili last night, but her mobile reception hadn’t been great. She had sent half a text – the bit about Penelope and driving the car to the Hall in the morning. But the second part of the text – about thanking her for the temporary offer of work in the gardens, which she would have to decline – hadn’t sent.
Lili smiled. ‘So this is Penelope. Did you know I was following you up the drive?’
Abigail didn’t. She had been so taken up with the views of the house on her approach that she hadn’t looked in the rear-view mirror.
Abigail couldn’t help with the garden, but she knew someone who could. ‘Talking of all hands on deck, I know someone who is at a loose end and might appreciate a bit of work.’ She’d already mentioned to Joss, when they were driving in the car together the previous day, that Lili had asked her if she wanted to pitch in with the landscaping project. Whilst it wasn’t her thing, she’d wondered if it might be Joss’s.
It had not surprised her when he’d said that, unlike his uncle, he didn’t have any experience gardening; it was quite different from his normal line of work. Abigail recalled that she’d been about to ask him what that was, but the moment had been lost. Someone in the car behind had honked their horn at her little car, all because she took a bit of time going up inclines.
She had told him about the landscaping. From what Lili had told her, she needed an extra supervisor to help the head gardener and his staff on the landscaping project.
Lili said. ‘Well, where is he?’ She glanced at the car as though she was expecting them to have arrived together.
Abigail supposed that they would have if Joss had still been living with his uncle. ‘He’s moved out of the lighthouse,’ she explained.
‘Now, that doesn’t surprise me.’
Abigail grinned. ‘They were my sentiments exactly.’
‘Are you still getting grief from your next-door neighbour?’
Abigail nodded. She told Lili about finding Penelope and how her crotchety neighbour had said that the garage was his until she’d produced the deeds; he’d then wanted to buy the car.
‘I can understand that,’ Lili said, staring at the Beetle. Her gaze settled on Abigail. ‘I wonder where my new employee is then – he’s late. You did tell him nine am?’
Before they had set off from their jaunt to find the whereabouts of the Hall the previous day, she had texted Lili, letting her know about Joss’s interest in the position. She’d got a text straight back with the start time on Monday morning.
They were standing there in the car park, both looking at their watches, when Joss’s car turned up in the staff car park. ‘I hope he remembered to bring appropriate clothing,’ Abigail commented, thinking of his flip-flops. To her surprise, and Lili’s, he got out of the car wearing a suit.
‘Doesn’t he scrub up nice?’ Lili whispered, leaning towards Abigail.
Abigail didn’t take the bait. She was not going to engage in that sort of conversation. Even if she agreed, she wasn’t letting on. She didn’t want Lili to get any notions that she was into him. Abigail noticed that he’d even brushed his hair, tucking it behind his ears. He walked over, nodded at Lili and flashed Abigail a smile as though he knew what they both were thinking – that he looked pretty damn good in a suit.