“Hi,” she said, wiping her palms self-consciously down her jeans. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were coming down now to collect the book or I would have waited for you.”

Finn looked at the drab, slimy strands of greenery that lay limply over the side of the bin. The smell of rotting vegetation hung in the air. “What on earth was that?” he asked.

“Oh...” Lucy wasn’t sure whether she wanted to explain to him or not. It felt too complicated. “Someone left me a rather unpleasant welcome gift.”

Finn’s brows snapped down. He opened the bin and peered at the wilting bouquet. “What, someone left that on your doorstep?”

“It was inside the house,” Lucy admitted. “I was thinking I should change the locks. It’s okay when I’m inside because there’s a bolt, but if someone has a key—or if they know where to find a spare—”

“Bloody hell!” Finn looked furious and intimidating. “You should report it to the police!”

“I thought of that,” Lucy said, “but I wondered whether it was just a bit of malice—you know, local people who don’t like there being tourists staying here, or perhaps don’t like the idea of the garden excavation?”

Finn fell into step with her as she walked back to the door. “Maybe,” he said. “I know there was initially some resentment about the barn being let, but quite a few properties around here are holiday lets and it doesn’t cause any problems.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “As for the dig, I know a few people thought I should have given up after Charlie died...” He lapsed into silence.

“Including Persis,” Lucy said. She opened the door and gestured to him to come in.

“Yeah, well, Persis was dating Charlie,” Finn said, “so it’s understandable that she was very upset, even though it was only a casual thing from Charlie’s perspective.” He grimaced. “She’s a bit of a lost soul, is Persis, to be honest. Her parents died when she was young, which is how she and Gabriel ended up living with their aunt. I think she was more hooked on Charlie than he was on her and so I try to be nice to her when she comes round like she did this afternoon, but she makes it difficult to like her sometimes.”

“She certainly seemed set on stirring things up,” Lucy said. She took a glass vase off the kitchen shelf, half filled it with water and arranged the sweet peas in it. Their gentle scent filled the air. “I need to put my shopping away,” she added, “but please do look around for the book you mentioned. I think most of them are on the shelf over by the sofa with the visitors’ book and all the leaflets on the local attractions.”

“Thanks,” Finn said. He wandered away toward the other end of the room and Lucy started to put the food away in the fridge and the cupboards. Even though her back was turned to him, she was very aware of Finn being in the room; his presence seemed to fill the space.