as she had. He galloped on after her, shouting, ‘Elizabeth! Wait! Stop!’
She did so, finally slowing, and turned around in the saddle. ‘What’s wrong? Are you not all right, Robin?’
‘I’m fine. Even though you almost gave me a heart attack a moment ago.’
‘I did?’ She looked at him oddly, and frowned. ‘How did I do that?’
‘I thought you were pushing Crimson Lass too hard, that she wouldn’t make it, and that you would be thrown.’
She smiled a trifle smugly. ‘You must trust me, Robin. You see, I’ve become quite a good horsewoman since we last rode out together … so long ago.’
‘So I see.’ He looked at his watch, changed the subject. ‘Shall we go back to the house? It’s already twelve-thirty. I’m hungry, aren’t you?’
‘We’d better make for home. Myrtle told me lunch would be at one o’clock prompt.’
They turned their horses and cantered side by side across the meadow in silence. It was a beautiful day, crisp and sunny, and the Kent sky was a soft cerulean blue, intersected with puffy clusters of white clouds. The red-gold leaves had not fallen yet and there was a beautiful, burnished look to the stands of trees which lined the edge of the meadows, and the woods still retained their russet and golden autumnal hues. As they rode on, Robert thought of the times he had spent here when he was a boy, how his father had driven him down to Aldington so he could keep Elizabeth company. He felt a sudden, unexpected yearning for those boyhood years gone by, when the world had been so very different, somehow nicer, better, to his way of thinking. Everything in its proper place … all of his siblings joyful, happy and still alive, and his parents, too. Sorrow struck at him hard, darkened his handsome face, and the pain of his losses made his heart clench.
After a moment, he straightened in the saddle, and looked ahead. He was clever, determined, ambitious, and an optimist … he must not look back into the past, but ahead … and he must keep on going … going forward …
Elizabeth interrupted his meandering thoughts when she said, ‘Robin, would you come to Stonehurst Farm with me this afternoon? I want to go over there and have a look around.’
‘I’ll come with you, yes, of course. What did Kat have to say about it?’ he asked, his interest sparked.
‘That it’s in perfect condition, thanks to the caretaker Briney Meadows. In fact, she went as far as to say she thinks it’s worth a small fortune. The gardens have been kept up by Alison Harden over the years, and it’s still something of a showplace. The gardens were spectacular, Robin, if you remember? We went there constantly to be with Aunt Grace Rose. She did love us so. You said she was a hoot, your favourite adult.’
‘She made us laugh with her wry sense of humour, and she let us eat anything we wanted … fruitcake, chocolate mousse and custard tarts, and once you and I ate a whole trifle. She was aghast.’
‘Don’t remind me!’ Elizabeth laughed. ‘I was the one who was sick afterwards. Little Greedy Guts, that was me.’
Robert shook his head and scowled. ‘Not you, Elizabeth, you never ate enough, and Kat was always complaining you were too thin.’
‘Oh, I know, she was a bit of a fusspot, wouldn’t you say? Just like you are.’
‘I’m not a fusspot!’ he protested, sounding not only indignant but slightly injured.
‘You were just now worrying that I couldn’t jump a little fence, that I’d break my neck.’
‘Kat and Cecil and everyone else would have my guts for garters if anything happened to you when you were with me. And you know it,’ he pointed out, still indignant.
Elizabeth merely grinned and, wanting to tease him, she spurred Crimson Lass forward, galloping ahead as fast as she could.
Elizabeth and Robert were both carried back in time as they walked around Stonehurst Farm with Briney Meadows later that afternoon. The caretaker had worked there for fifty years and had known them when they were children.
In every room the windows sparkled, the floors shone, the antiques gleamed. The carpets were fresh, looked newly cleaned, and there was not a speck of dust anywhere. Nothing was out of place; the house was perfect.
‘I feel as if I were here only yesterday,’ Elizabeth said, turning a beaming face to Briney. ‘It’s exactly the same as it was when I was a little girl.’
‘Aye, it is indeed, Miss Turner, but then Miss Grace Rose is a stickler, she always kept it up, and made sure we did. She was a perfectionist in those days, and she still is. On the phone to me all the time, issuing orders.’
‘I didn’t know she still took an interest in the house, Briney,’ Elizabeth said, sounding surprised, looking at him swiftly.
‘Oh, she does, Miss Turner! It’s thanks to her supervision that the house has been very well maintained and cared for over the years. And the gardens as well. I’m sorry that Alison, the gardener, isn’t here today. She’d be proud to show you around, and the sunken garden is looking lovely at the moment. You see, it’s a bit of a mild winter this year, so far anyway.’
‘We noticed the gardens when we drove in,’ Robert remarked, ‘and they’re spectacular – all those lovely shrubs and bushes and the copper beeches … just breathtaking.’
Briney nodded, beaming, obviously pleased by this praise, and as he stood there looking at Robert he remembered the boy he had been and Briney smiled inside. Now here he was, a grown man, so tall and handsome, and before he could stop himself he blurted out, ‘No frogs in your pocket today, sir, eh?’
Robert threw back his head and roared with laughter. ‘What a good memory you have, Briney. I was rather keen on frogs when I was a schoolboy, wasn’t I?’
‘That’s a fact, sir. You found them fascinating, and you were always fiddling around in the pond. There was many a time I thought you’d fall in.’
‘You caught a tadpole for me there once and put it in a jam jar,’ Elizabeth interjected. ‘I bet you don’t remember, though.’
‘’Course I do … it was a gift for you, one of my first.’ He chuckled as they stepped out onto the front steps. ‘And how on earth could I forget that most glorious tadpole?’
Elizabeth laughed, and said, ‘Thanks for showing us around.’ She shook Briney’s brown gnarled hand and went outside.
‘My pleasure, Miss … you both make me feel young again … bring back memories, that you do.’
Robert grasped Briney’s hand firmly and shook it. ‘Yes, it’s been a bit of a trip down memory lane for all of us, Briney. Take care now.’
Briney waved as they walked towards the flagged terrace, and they waved back before striking out towards the sunken garden.
At one moment Elizabeth said, ‘I noticed Briney didn’t mention Mary, but then I’m not really surprised. Toby said they didn’t like each other, and he mentioned that Briney was respectful to her but kept his
