Page 100 of Best Summer Ever

‘No,’ he confessed, ‘it was just something I had a fancy to try for a season before… before I put the estate up for sale, hopefully with the flower business, and the fruit farm of course, as added extras and profitable going concerns.’

I steadied myself by leaning on the top of a nearby spade.

‘You’re selling the estate!’ I gasped, clutching at the handle.

‘I had beenthinkingabout selling the estate,’ Algy quickly rephrased. ‘And the thought of doing it was killing me. Why do you think I’ve been so glum these last few months?’

I didn’t know about that far back because I hadn’t been either at Wynbrook or in touch often enough, but out of every reason I could have listed to explain Algy’s low mood, planning to part with the estate would never have featured.

‘The last thing I wanted,’ he then further said, ‘was for the place to be sold by my son after my death, to someone who most likely wouldn’t look after it as I would have wanted them to, so selling it while I was still alive would have ensured I could have picked the best buyer.’

If Wynbrook had been bequeathed to his son, then doubtless it would have been handed on to the highest bidder with not a care for the consequences, but that or selling it himself hadn’t been Algy’s only option, had it?

‘But you could have bypassed your son and left it to Josh, couldn’t you?’ I pointed out. ‘You might not have previously had any contact with him, but you knew he was out in the world somewhere and you could have left it to him.’

Algy shook his head.

‘I would never have done that,’ he told me. ‘Because Thomas had convinced me that Josh felt the same way about the place as he did and that he wouldn’t want it either. Thomas told me that my grandson had absolutely no interest in either me or the Wynbrook Estate, and if it was left to him, he would sell up too. And without even coming to view it.’

Thomas sounded like a total toad, and that was putting it mildly.

‘But Josh does want it?’ I asked, feeling a flare of hope.

‘I’m certain that he does.’ Algy nodded, looking happy again. ‘Obviously it’s a lot for him to get his head around, so we’re taking things slowly, but one thing I do know for sure is thatThomas lied to me about how my grandson has always felt about this place. Among other things.’

‘So, what’s next for Josh?’ I asked, wondering what those other things were, but feeling it wasn’t my business to ask. ‘How’s he planning on getting to know the estate he might one day inherit and what running it entails?’

Algy looked at me and smiled.

‘Oh, I know that look,’ I said warily. ‘You want something, Algy, don’t you?’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘the thing is, I’d really like Josh’s introduction to the estate to be the same as mine was when I was a young man. Younger in fact than he is now.’

‘And how were you introduced to it?’ I frowned.

‘My father encouraged me to work every part of it,’ Algy told me, his eyes twinkling at the memory. ‘I started with the housekeeping, then helped in the office, in the garden and out in the fields. I had a go at everyone’s job and in doing so, earned the respect of all of the staff and got to know the place and what it took to run it from every possible angle.’

That sounded like a very sensible approach to me and no doubt accounted for what made Algy such a generous employer. If Josh went through the same apprenticeship, it could make him a competent potential estate owner too. That said, I couldn’t see Mum and Dad welcoming him in to work with them. They were still wary and suspicious about his sudden arrival and the way he’d duped me for so long had done nothing to allay their fears about what he might secretly have up his sleeve for Algy.

‘So, Josh will be doing the laundry for a while, will he?’ I asked.

Algy grimaced.

‘Your mum wasn’t keen, I have to say,’ he said. ‘She said she’s got so much to do and she doesn’t need someone getting under her feet.’

‘And Dad?’

‘I didn’t dare ask him,’ Algy sighed. ‘And I know Nick’s too busy for Josh to start with him because he’ll need supervising and training up. So, I was wondering…’

‘What?’ I frowned.

‘I was wondering if perhaps Josh might be able to start here in the cutting garden with you, Daisy. Just doing some very simple tasks.’

My heart sank. I still hadn’t had any contact with Josh since revelation day, so the thought of working next to him in my favourite place wasn’t one I relished. I had quickly managed to quell my bad memories of the walled garden, grown to love it again and my work in it, and I didn’t want anything to taint that.

Though, if in time Josh did become the owner of the estate, then I supposed I would have to get used to him being around. He would be my bossandmy landlord if I carried on living in the summerhouse and running Wynbrook Blooms.

‘You don’t want to work with him either?’ Algy said worriedly, when I didn’t immediately answer.

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