“Have you considered telling Miles that you’re doing this course? Perhaps he doesn’t want to help you because he thinks you’re being a nuisance or getting in his way. If you explained that you were only looking for some advice from an experienced gardener, he might be willing to help you.”

I made a noise that was neither here nor there. I didn’t think that would work at all, and there was the chance my father would find out. He would have to eventually, and I was under no illusions about that, but I wanted it to come from me.

“Oh, come on. I think you’re building this up into some big dramatic thing in your head. It won’t be that bad.”

“Alex, you’ve just seen it. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t help me. He doesn’t like me, and that’s fine.”

“The more you say it’s fine, the more I know it’s a bunch of bull.”

I swatted at him. “Oh, give over. I’m entitled to be a little put out if someone doesn’t like me for seemingly no reason. Either way, I’m sick and tired of talking about him now. Can we move on?”

“Fine, fine. Is Aunt Cat really not back yet?”

“Nope. She might be now, but she wasn’t when I came out.” I pushed open the mudroom door and stepped inside. It took me a moment to pull off my wellies and set them upside down on the boot rack. Why did they always get stuck on your feet?

“There you are! It’s about to rain!” Aunt Cat said when we walked into the kitchen. She held up a china teapot and smiled. “Here, Arthur made a pot of tea.”

I blinked at her. Was she serious right now? “Where on Earth have you been?”

“I’ve been right here all day. What do you mean?”

“Don’t lie,” I replied. “I know you haven’t been here, and you definitely were not in the kitchen a little while ago when I went out to get Alex. Arthur has been looking for you.”

“Oh, fine. I went into town and met Samantha for dinner. Is that better?”

“No, it’s not. Your bloody goats escaped again.”

“Did they? Did they have a nice time?”

I looked at Alex as if to say, “You see what I have to put up with?” and to his credit, he stepped forwards.

“Aunt Cat,” he said in a soothing tone. “They caused carnage. They ate some of the bushes in the public gardens and it took us twenty minutes to get them back in between me and Miles.”

Oh, I see.

I wasn’t getting credit for my genius here.

“Gabi eventually grabbed some of Miles’ strawberries—you owe him some plants, by the way—and lured them back in. Caleb locked them up, but we spent ages fixing the fence. You’re going to have to get it properly reinforced or they’ll have to be secured with a stake.”

She turned to him, flattening a hand against her chest. “You will not stake Queen Victoria!”