She knew she was being a coward, and despised it in herself. But really, hadn’t everyone been through enough in the last few weeks?

The day Hazel turned up with a truckload of plants and gardening implements was perfect weather for her and Elle to get stuck in to the garden.

‘Usually, for a job like this, you’d need a few more people, at least. But we’ll have to make do with what we’ve got.’

It was a case of ‘making do’ with almost everything, though. They were bleeding money. At every turn, there was some unexpected expense, something that hadn’t been calculated for. Elle had hurriedly put her London flat up for sale so that she would have some cash to inject into the flagging funds.

Nevertheless, it was a hopeful time. Their vision for Anna’s hotel was finally becoming a reality.

Ned and Colin helped with the garden as well, while Penny had taken a shine to hanging wallpaper. She said she found it very relaxing.

‘I don’t see why,’ Colin said. ‘It’s absolute hell on the neck and shoulders. I’d much rather be out here, soaking up nature’s bounty.’

Though ‘nature’s bounty’ turned out to be harder work than any of them imagined. By the end of the first day, they were as tired as they’d ever been.

‘My hands,’ the English Invader moaned later that day. ‘My poor writer’s hands.’ His hands were torn and red and Penny had to soak them in lavender water.

‘I bet wallpapering doesn’t seem so bad, now, does it?’ she said smugly.

Bit by bit they all began to toughen up. Their bodies became stronger and they were able to work for long hours without paying for it the next day.

Despite her design background, Elle found she enjoyed the work in the garden more than any of the other parts of the renovation. She still loved watching her architectural vision come to life, but working in the garden took over her mind and let her stop thinking for a little while. Or, even if she couldn’t stop entirely, it was a calmer, more productive kind of thinking.

She and Hazel spent time each morning discussing what should be worked on that day. Hazel took her work very seriously. She knew what Elle had in mind and wanted to make it a reality.

‘It has to look as though it’s been here for years,’ she said. ‘That’s the effect that we want. It can’t be new and neat and freshly dug over.’