UNEARTHING the past
THE STORY SO FAR: With Hartwell House and its spectacular gardens facing potential closure, volunteer Judy and her colleagues are desperate to think of ways to raise some much-needed funds. But after settling on the idea of local celebrity wild gardener Sarah Smith giving a talk, devoted volunteer Anthony’s behaviour becomes increasingly worrying. Declaring he cannot support this suggestion, he stormed out of their meeting, only to return acting as if nothing had happened a week later. Seemingly on board, Anthony volunteers to approach Sarah about the talk, only to report that she’s unavailable – something that later turns out not to be true. Judy is prepared to give her friend the benefit of the doubt, but it’s not long before she discovers that Anthony has been involved in other acts of sabotage. Then, on a visit to the house during one of these occasions, Sarah lets slip that she and Anthony go back a long way...
Still reeling after Sarah Smith’s astonishing revelation, Judy, Sonia and Betty all stood in absolute silence, unsure of what to say, or how to act.
A lone tear trailed slowly down Sarah’s cheek before she hastily brushed it away and Judy felt the urge to comfort her, but found she couldn’t conjure up the right words. She hardly knew the woman, after all. How on earth was she going to ask her what was wrong?
Judy could only assume that Sarah and Anthony’s shared history – whatever that might be – was the
