‘No. I don’t suppose we’ll have much to do with Ragged Hall again, now Bill’s gone.’ Archie sipped deeply from his cup and sat back in his chair. ‘It will no doubt be put up for sale, unless one of his grandchildren farms it.’

‘Well, perhaps that would be for the best. Their home will be Slaidburn, after all.’ Harriet smiled and sat back, content with the news she had been given. There was no need to worry about Amy Brown; obviously time had favoured herself, for keeping her looks, otherwise Danny would not have returned so quickly. He was still hers, and always would be.

26

26

‘Close your eyes. No peeking.’ Ethan held Rosie’s hand and guided her across the back green to the garden of her Great-aunt Lucy’s cottage. ‘You are cheating – keep your eyes closed. Here, stop there and I’ll tie my neckerchief around you and then I know you can’t see.’ Ethan stopped Rosie in her tracks and undid the red-and-white spotted neckerchief from around his neck. He tied it securely round her eyes, making sure she couldn’t squint through it. ‘There, that’s better. Now I know you definitely can’t see.’

‘But why do I have to close my eyes? What is there so special to see?’ Rosie held out her hands, grasping Ethan’s as he guided her over the green and through the garden gate of the small, dilapidated cottage. She held tightly on to Ethan as he guided her up the path to the back door and then turned her round, before untying her blindfold.

‘There, what do you think? I’ve cleared all the brambles and dug the flowerbeds ready for spring, and I’ve taken the ivy off the walls of the cottage. At least you can see into the rooms more easily now.’ Ethan stood back and watched Rosie’s face light up.

‘Oh, Ethan, you’ve even made a birdtable?’ She rushed over to where a birdtable stood in the middle of the paved garden area, and looked at the workmanship that had gone into it and how tidy the garden looked. ‘It looks lovely, Ethan.’

‘Snowdrops are already beginning to show. I told them to keep their heads down for a while longer yet, as we are only just into December. And there’s a Christmas rose over here by the back door – it will flower shortly. Your Great-aunt Lucy must have known her plants.’ Ethan grinned. ‘It’s a grand garden and there’s enough room for a veg plot round the side, so we’d never go hungry.’