I glanced back over my shoulder to make sure Lily Cruickshank wasn’t around. There was no sign of her.

I waggled the section of wood out again for a better view. I couldn’t resist. The glossy, festive sight of holly and ivy studded with red berries appeared in front of me. There was a whole bank of it on the other side of the garden.

I stood up, Harley peering at me in confusion. I could see further down the lawns now too.

A sweet garden bench greeted me, surrounded by laces of winter honeysuckle, their creamy-white petals bountiful and fragrant. There was also cyclamen, with its silver-lined green leaves, blooming in bursts of hot pink, red, and vanilla, not to mention more lavender heathers in periwinkle blue and soft pink. A couple more trees, bare but twisting their branches elegantly towards the evening sky, cast looming shadows over the wooden bench. It was like something out of a Renoir painting.

I paused. I was sure I could hear tinkling water.

My curiosity fired up even more, I moved a bit further down the length of the fence, encouraging Harley to go with me. Yes, that was the sound of water. It sounded like a fountain.

I had hoped there might be another section of the fence further along that had seen better days and which I could dislodge, but no such luck. The rest of the fence looked secure.

I returned to where Harley and I had managed to create a gap. I made a snap decision. We could ease through the space. It would be very uncomfortable squeezing through, but that space would be just wide enough for a twenty-seven-year-old journalist and her Cockapoo puppy to get through.

I gave an uncertain-looking Harley an encouraging smile. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go and take a look.”

Harley wasn’t sure. She took a couple of steps backwards.

I clipped her lead on again and stroked her velvet head. “I bet there are lots of lovely birdies in there you can chase.”

She considered this for a couple of moments and watched me edge my way through. When I remembered I had a couple of her bone-shaped treats in my jeans pocket and waggled the packet in front of her, she had a change of heart, sped up and slid through the gap behind me.

Oh wow! I didn’t know where to look first. I thought the back gardens might be spectacular and they didn’t disappoint.

From the splashes of cerise and violet to the imposing trees, the thick hedgerows and the romantic garden bench, it was breath-taking. I turned my attention to the water feature I had heard only moments before, further down the lawn.