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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

It was only when she stopped to empty the grass box that she heard it.

A noise, a rustle coming from the hedge behind her. She turned, but there was nothing to be seen at the bottom of the garden where the sound had come from. She remained where she was, listening and watching. Perhaps it was one of the foxes coming to investigate. In daylight? Chris had said they were hungry at this time of year and approached homes looking for food when they wouldn’t normally. Or perhaps the noise of the lawn mower had disturbed them. But wouldn’t they have been scared off like Tinder?

Slightly unsettled, Jan removed the grass box from the back of the lawn mower and emptied it onto the compost heap. As she shook it clear she heard the noise again. The shed was blocking her view. Moving quietly, she came out from beside it. The garden was empty. She went over and looked at the gap in the hedge where the track marks had been. Were those fresh prints? She couldn’t be sure. The air remained quiet and still.

The sun would be setting soon. She needed to finish cutting the grass. Silencing her unease, Jan returned to the mower and started it again. The engine fired up easily now it was warm. She continued cutting the grass. Up and down, creating neat stripes. But as she worked, she had the strangest feeling she was being watched. It was weird, unsettling and completely irrational, she told herself. Yet the feeling grew so that she had to keep taking her eyes from the lawn in front to look behind her.

She chided herself for being silly, but eventually the feeling became so strong she stopped the mower and went to the hedge at the bottom of the garden for a closer look. Leaning in, she pulled aside some branches so she could see into the hedge more clearly. Camile’s garden was separated from the woods by shrubs forming a hedge. She looked at the hole Tinder and the shadow had gone through.

‘Hello? Anyone there?’ she called, then felt foolish.

Did she expect an animal to reply? Unless it wasn’t an animal. Perhaps there were scouts camping in the woods or a homeless person living there, she wondered, as she had before. Now she’d cleared the leaves and parted the shrubbery she could see the gap was big enough for a child to get through, or even an adult if they crouched down and crawled through. Was that what was making those marks? Someone crawling through?