Waking, wrapped in Finn’s warm and strong arms the next morning, it genuinely felt as though Christmas had come early. I looked at him briefly, taking in his features, softened by sleep, the tangle of his hair and the steady rise and fall of his chest, before closing my eyes, ready for sleep to claim me again, but they sprang straight back open the second I remembered.
It might not have really been Christmas Day but it was as good as. It was finally time to open the Winter Garden and find out what the rest of the world, or at least a small part of it, thought of the horticultural efforts I, along with my team of two, had made since arriving in Nightingale Square just a few short weeks ago.
I mentally ran through Luke’s plan for the day and then gently, and reluctantly, manoeuvred myself further from Finn’s warm reach.
‘No,’ he sleepily muttered, pulling me straight back again, ‘just five more minutes.’
‘I can’t,’ I told him, ‘I need to get the garden ready.’
‘The garden is ready,’ he said, his eyes still closed. ‘Five minutes.’
‘There’s no time,’ I weakly protested, as he rolled on to his side and then on top of me. ‘I’ve got to do something with my hair.’
I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that it was going to need some attention.
‘I’ll do it for you,’ said Finn, kissing me lightly on the lips.
‘Will you?’ I asked, my head instantly filled with that delicious hair washing scene featuring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa.
‘Yes,’ he said, kissing me again.
‘In that case,’ I giggled, ‘let’s take ten minutes instead of five.’
After a very seductive fifteen minutes, Finn was true to his word and tamed and plaited my tangled tresses in no time at all.
‘You can do this every morning,’ I told him as I admired his handiwork in the hall mirror as we were getting ready to leave.
‘That can be arranged,’ he smiled.
The loose side braid he had nimbly created was boho heaven but perfectly practical in my line of work.
‘I can never reach right round the back,’ I said, squinting to get a better look. ‘My arms give up on me.’
‘We need to work on your upper body strength,’ he grinned.
‘No, we don’t,’ I said, clipping on Nell’s lead, ‘I’ll just take advantage of yours.’
By the time we crossed the road from the square to Prosperous Place there was already quite a crowd gathered and when we dropped Nell in the kitchen, where she was going to spend the morning with Gus and the cats, the excitement was palpable.
‘When I looked out earlier,’ said Luke, who was doling out a cooked breakfast to Kate and the girls, ‘there were already a couple of people queuing.’
‘There’s more than that,’ said Finn, pinching a rasher of bacon from Jasmine’s plate and earning himself a stern glare in the process.
‘There’s nearer a dozen now,’ I said, pulling Finn away from Jas’s plate and into an empty chair.
‘Have you not come from the studio?’ Kate then asked Finn.
‘No,’ he said, ‘I came over with…’
His words trailed off and his face turned bright red, as did mine.
‘You did have an early start,’ Kate grinned at us both.
‘No doubt you’ll be wanting breakfast then?’ Luke said teasingly, adding more bacon to the pan.
‘Yes,’ said Jas. ‘Finn’s really hungry, aren’t you?’
‘I have got a bit of an appetite this morning,’ he admitted.
‘I’m just going to do one last tour of the garden,’ I quickly swallowed.
I did want to check that everything was as it should be, but I wanted to get out of the steamy kitchen too.
‘Everything’s perfect,’ Luke told me. ‘I’ve already been out and looked, so there’s no need.’
‘But even so,’ I said, heading for the door. ‘Just a quick check, won’t hurt, will it?’
‘Take this then,’ he said, thrusting a bacon roll into my hands, ‘and don’t start fiddling about with anything.’
Practically everything was perfect, but I still wasn’t completely satisfied with the arrangement of the containers we were using to show off winter planting combinations for small spaces. Chloe and Hannah were in charge of sales and the plants had all come from a nursery near Wynbridge which was run by two women Finn had met through his friend, Jake.
If sales were strong enough, we were planning to strike a deal which would mean we could set up something similar for each season, possibly with Graham and me heading up a container planting masterclass like the one he had organised for Winterfest. I refused to allow my mind to track back over that fateful day as I pulled everything out of place and then back into a much more satisfactory set-up.
‘What are you doing?’ Finn called.
‘Nothing,’ I said hastily stepping away.
‘The evidence on your clothes suggests that’s not quite true,’ he laughed.
‘Oh damn,’ I swore, when I looked down to find my jumper streaked with compost. ‘I’ll have to go back and change.’
‘You’d better be quick then,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘it’s almost time to open.’
I would have been far quicker had he not come back with me and insisted that I really needed help stripping off and re-dressing to settle my nerves. We were out of breath when we rushed back again, which was slightly embarrassing, especially when I spotted two familiar faces in the queue.
‘Mum,’ I said, pulled up short by her appearance. ‘Dad. I wasn’t sure if you were still going to come.’
The pair looked as impeccable as ever, but they were more casually dressed than usual. They were even wearing wellington boots, but not just any old wellies, of course. The matching Le Chameau boots they were sporting were way out of my price range and I was amused to see that they were completely spotless. Most likely fresh out of the box that morning.
‘I know we talked about today,’ I carried on, trawling back over our telephone conversations, ‘but I did wonder—’
‘We wanted to come and lend you our support,’ Dad cut in, kissing me on the cheek and neatly stopping me from mentioning Jackson as I lost sight of Finn in the crowd.
‘And I really wanted to come because I’m thinking about going back to my roots and doing a bit of gardening myself,’ Mum said.
My eyes swivelled from searching for Finn back to her again.
‘I’m serious,’ she said, flushing a little as she took in my shocked expression. ‘I think it will do me good.’
‘In that case,’ I told her, ‘you need to come to the plant sales area when you get inside, unless you want to come in with me now?’
‘No, no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘We’re happy to wait. It’s nice listening to the buzz about the place along with everyone else.’
I left them standing in line and went back inside.
‘What’s up with you?’ Finn asked, when he took in the look of shock Mum had picked up on too.
‘What’s up with you more like?’ I countered.
He was looking bright red and wide-eyed himself.
‘Zak’s convinced Dad to come,’ he said, wringing his hands. ‘He’s out there with my step-mum. He wants to see what I’ve been working on.’
It was a red-letter day for both of us then, but there was no time for an attack of the vapours because Luke was ready to let everyone in.
Once the gate was open, the people who had been waiting so patiently rushed inside and congregated around the steps which led up to the main door of the house. Luke threaded his way through them, pulling me along with him. I had hoped I was going to get away with hiding in the background while he said a few words, but apparently not.
He talked briefly about the house and his connection to it and then turned his attention to the renovation of the garden and the creation of the Winter Garden, reiterating all he had said on previous occasions about the importance of embracing nature and getting outside, even on the most bitter winter days.
‘As you walk around,’ he said, by way of introducing me, ‘please be aware that the garden is very much a work in progress. As all gardens are. That said, there’s already plenty here to delight the senses, and there will be more as the winter moves on, but Freya is more qualified to talk to you about that than I am, so I’ll hand you over.’
Thankfully, plants were my forte and it didn’t take many seconds for my voice to stop shaking and for me to get into my stride listing everything to look out for that day as well as sharing the details of what would be popping up throughout the next few months.
‘And of course,’ I finished up, easily spotting Finn because he was so tall, ‘we also have the work of a very talented local artist to enjoy. I’ll hand back to Luke, to tell you more about that, and perhaps Finn could join us up here too?’
Finn’s face was aflame as we passed each other and Zak could be heard whooping and cheering. I knew I was going to be in trouble later for forcing him to step up, but I was rather looking forward to that.
‘So,’ said Luke, once Finn had got everyone fired up with the promise of hidden dragons, ‘all that remains for me to say is that I hope you enjoy your first trip around the Winter Garden and that there are plants for sale near the garden office and mulled wine, soft drinks, along with homemade soup and pizzas available in the Grow-Well, so please stay as long as you can and don’t forget that we’ll be illuminating the garden at dusk.’
Everyone cheered and began to disperse. Some people headed straight for the garden, while others peeled off to the Grow-Well. I opted for the garden, keen to eavesdrop on a few conversations and see if I could get a feel for what people thought.
‘Have you smelt this?’ was the first comment I heard and it made my spirit soar. ‘It’s so sweet!’
I stopped and had a few words with the family who had discovered the sarcococca, which looked as good as it smelt.
‘I hope this is on sale?’ asked the guy who had smelt if first.
I reassured him that we had a few plants in stock and then moved on, smiling to myself as I heard children squealing in the fern garden, no doubt having found at least one of Finn’s fabulous hidden dragons.
And thinking of Finn.
I could see him standing on the path ahead of me with his dad, step-mum and Zak. They were looking at the hares in the meadow lawn. I was just about to take a different path when Zak turned and gave me a thumbs up and Finn’s dad clapped his eldest son firmly on the back. It might not have been a particularly demonstrative moment, but it was a very definite seal of approval and I knew Finn would be thrilled. He might have found the strength to stick to his guns and follow his heart even without his father’s understanding, but I knew the man’s approval still meant the world to him.
‘Freya!’ Finn called, when he spotted me loitering. ‘Come and join us.’
With all eyes on me, I walked to where they were standing. Finn reached for my hand and in a rush told them that I was his girlfriend.
‘Bugger,’ Zak grinned and I knew he was only acting up for the sake of it. ‘What, like officially and everything?’
‘Officially and everything,’ Finn said firmly, kissing the back of my hand before properly introducing me to everyone.
The day absolutely flew by and it took a while for me to catch up with Mum and Dad. I worked my way around the garden in my capacity as head gardener, stopping to talk to the visitors and offering advice when asked, and I was keen to find out what my parents thought of the place.
‘Isn’t that them?’ said Finn, pointing when we gave up in the garden and walked round to the Grow-Well.
‘It is,’ I nodded, easily picking the pair out. ‘What’s Mum eating?’
She was tucking into a slice of the pizza John had made in the garden oven and deep in conversation with Graham about the joys of pea sticks versus metal stakes. Dad was looking a little unfocused and I guessed he had been sampling the mulled wine Carole had been warming in the bothy. They still looked like my parents, but they didn’t sound much like them. I was rather pleased about that.
‘And here she is,’ Dad beamed, ‘our clever girl.’
Finn and I stepped forward before Dad stood up. He was definitely a little tipsy, a state I had never seen him in. Mum, on the other hand, was high on life.
‘And this is Finn,’ I said, keeping introductions brief.
‘Well, Freya,’ Mum smiled, taking in Finn’s handsome face. ‘I can certainly see why you’re so smitten.’
‘The gardens are gorgeous, aren’t they?’ I swallowed.
‘The what?’ asked Mum. ‘Oh yes, the gardens. Yes, the gardens are glorious.’
I couldn’t swear to it, but I think she actually winked at Finn. The way he started to laugh told me that I was right, and I didn’t know what to feel more shocked about – her and Dad turning down Jackson’s project, the realisation that they had bought up half the plants and Mum was intending to get her hands (or at least her gardening gloves) dirty, or the fact that the pair of them had finally taken a long hard look at my life and applied the lessons that I had learned to their own!
There was a bit of a lull in the afternoon so Finn and I collected Nell and took her back to the house. I wanted to put some potatoes to slowly bake in the oven, so we would have something to eat after the illumination event, and while I did that Finn cleaned out and remade the fire.
‘Your mum’s a card, isn’t she?’ Finn laughed when he came back to the kitchen to wash his hands.
‘If you say so,’ I laughed back, thinking that he wouldn’t have said that had he met her the first time she had visited. ‘But she’s not usually like she was today.’
‘I could say the same for my father,’ he pointed out.
‘Parents are hard work, aren’t they?’ I sighed, thinking of the metamorphosis both sets had so very recently gone through.
‘Just a bit,’ he agreed. ‘Dad’s insisting that the two of us spend Christmas day with them.’
‘Oh no,’ I gasped. ‘My mum wants us to go there. What are we going to do?’
Finn glanced up at the kitchen clock.
‘We’re not going to worry about it now,’ he said stoically, ‘because we need to get back over the road.’
I knew I was biased, but the garden really was looking so much better and with the paths packed with friends who were already feeling more like family, a variety of visitors, a group of carol singers and Finn at my side, when the lights came on the whole place took on an even more magical appearance.
‘You were certainly right about washing those trees, weren’t you?’ smiled Chloe as she slipped her arm through mine and we stood admiring the bright bark and lengthy shadows as everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ over the spectacle.
‘Yep,’ I smiled back, squeezing her into my side, ‘and I hope you know that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anywhere near half of this if I hadn’t had your help to get it all done.’
‘I haven’t done much,’ she mumbled. ‘And Graham’s done loads too.’
‘You’ve done loads,’ I told her. ‘You both have.’
‘And you’ve taught me so much,’ she batted back, unwilling to let the compliment just lie.
‘How did the plant sales go?’ asked Finn.
‘Biggest surprise of the day,’ Hannah, who was standing on Chloe’s other side, told us. ‘We sold out!’
‘No way,’ I gasped.
‘We did,’ said Chloe. ‘Everyone loved the containers and they were keen to replicate them at home.’
‘You’ll be doing that again then,’ chuckled Finn.
‘We certainly will,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘And there was me worrying that we’d over-ordered.’
‘We probably could have sold more,’ said Hannah, ‘especially of that smelly shrub.’
I made a note of Hannah’s description of the sarcococca. If she was going to help out next time, Chloe could get her up to speed on plant names. Although, that said, I bet all those who’d visited and weren’t au fait with the official name would have been able to pick out the plant she had described.
‘Everyone all right?’ asked Luke, coming along to join us, with Graham close behind.
Luke was carrying a tray of yet more mulled wine and we all took a cup, as keen to warm our hands as we were to enjoy the fruity flavour.
‘More than all right,’ I told him. ‘What a day.’
‘It’s been amazing,’ he smiled. ‘Definitely one for the memory bank. And I’ve already got loads planned for next year.’
Why didn’t that surprise me? I was very much looking forward to being a part of the plans for the gardens at Prosperous Place and couldn’t wait to find out what he had in mind.
‘Shall we have a look through them tomorrow?’ I suggested, before thanking Graham for all his hard work while I attempted, and failed, to stifle the biggest yawn.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Luke. ‘No work tomorrow. In fact, no work now until the new year.’
‘I can’t possibly take off all that time,’ I told him, and I really meant it.
Luke was generous to a fault, but I couldn’t leave the garden for three whole weeks. It was going to be a struggle not coming in on Christmas day. Living on site had made always being at work part of my life and that wasn’t about to change.
I might have been a little further off from the garden in Nightingale Square, but it was still just a stone’s throw away really. That said, I was pretty sure Finn would be able to come up with ways to stop me constantly rushing back.
‘Reduced hours then,’ said Luke, stating the fact rather than asking the question. ‘Let’s say, half nine until half two.’
‘Nine until three,’ I batted back.
‘Half nine until half two,’ he said again. ‘Tell her would you, Finn?’
‘It’s nothing to do with me,’ Finn laughed. ‘Freya knows her own mind. That’s one of the many things I love about her.’
Chloe dug me sharply in the ribs and I gulped down a mouthful of wine, not that I needed it to warm me now that Finn had so publicly bandied the ‘L’ word about. His words had lit me up inside and out.