Ann laughed. ‘I know, Ocimum isn’t very nice, not for something with such a good flavour. There are at least two sorts of sage, though.’ She rubbed a velvety leaf between her fingers. ‘There is this green Salvia and there’s another one with purple leaves.’

‘I’ll use whatever you choose to grow. If you pinch out some of those chives and bring them inside for me now, I’ll chop them up and put them in the dough instead of onion, and you can have chive rolls with your dinner this evening. Now, Miss Ann, I really must get on, so I’ll leave you to your planning.’ Isobel turned and headed back along the path to the scullery door, her skirts brushing against the herbs as she walked.

Left alone, Ann sat down cross-legged like a small child, and removed the folded paper from the cunning pocket which Elizabeth Forrester had sewn into the side seam of her dress. She opened it up and studied it. The diagram was clear enough, and she would certainly be needing more space next year, if Father agreed.

On the paper she had drawn out a series of concentric rings, with the herbs arranged inside the circles and the rosemary bush in the centre. The Latin names were listed neatly along one side of the paper, with arrows showing where everything would go.

She took a pencil from her pocket and spread the paper out on the dry, sun-warm flagstone path, and wrote in her best handwriting:

My New Herb Garden

She paused for a moment, and added:

By Annie Black

1921

Chapter 31

Monday 20 June 1921

The census collector adjusted his tie and pushed his shoulders back to make himself feel more official. It was mid-morning and he was about a third of the way through his collecting round. Most of the houses in this part of Edinburgh had their outer storm doors open, allowing the sunshine to warm the tiled entrance between the main door and the partially glazed inner one. Each one, he noticed, had a slightly different pattern on the floor. Some featured a complicated central star, with smaller stars arranged around the edge in ochre and cream and pale blue. Others just had a simple rectangle surrounded by a number of borders. Most, but not all, of the entrance halls were gleaming. He could smell the fragrance rising from the wax-polished surfaces.

Almost every property had produced their census form. Some had been handed over by the lady of the house; he often heard the sound of young children filtering through to the front door. Other forms were brought forward by the maids, wiping their hands on their aprons and looking nervous, as though it would be their fault if there was an error on the paperwork.