Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Wow, summoned by Mathilda Westcott. I could pinch myself.” She actually did, making him laugh.
“We need a little time for all of this to digest anyway, and we worked through lunch, so why don’t we lock up? We can come back in the morning, ready to get down to work. The first thing I’ll do is haul out the broken furniture and rubbish, then we’ll be able to start cleaning and painting.”
She agreed, and they set to closing up the cottages. She already felt a connection to these rooms and could see them in her mind’s eye, revitalized and welcoming. She couldn’t wait to come back in the morning.
As they walked out, she gestured at the stone walls beside the cottages. “This is the walled garden?”
“A sadly neglected one. I’ve seen paintings of it from decades ago when it was flourishing. They grew everything from flowers to vegetables to healing herbs. It truly was a sight to behold. I know my sister Alice would give anything to be able to bring it back to life.”
“Is she a big gardener?”
“The biggest. She’s actually a professional horticulturalist and currently works at Kew Gardens. She got her degree there, and when you meet her, you’ll discover she’s always covered in mud, or worse.”
Josie smiled, hearing the affection in his tone. “I’ve always loved spending time in gardens,” she said. “I’m afraid I don’t have much of a green thumb, though, so I’m not going to be of any use at all here. Although it would be really nice to neaten up the cottage gardens for the reading retreats. Do you think your sister might be able to lend a hand, or at least give us some ideas on what direction to take with them?”
“Just by asking that question, I promise you’re going to be Alice’s new favorite person. Like I said, it’s long been her dream to be able to work on the manor house grounds. But there haven’t been available funds for it and from the council, and she’s been busy building up her own qualifications at Kew these past years. I’ll talk to her about it tonight, in case Mari hasn’t got to her yet.”
“How many siblings do you have?” Again, the more she knew about Malcolm, the more she wanted to know. When he spoke about his sister Alice, it was obvious how much he loved her.
“Well, Alice is the baby of the family. We all look after her, even though she swears she doesn’t need it. And truthfully, she doesn’t. She’s very focused on what she does. I’m sure she does get up to some trouble, but just makes sure that none of us are aware of it, lest we try to stop her fun. You’ve already met Owen—he’s the oldest. As you probably know, he runs my grandmother’s publishing business, which is more than a full-time job, but she doesn’t trust anyone but family to do it, so he has gladly taken it all on.”
“I think it’s great that her books are all in the family like this. And now with Mari having the bookstore and creating the dedicated space for her books and fan mementos, it’s like the circle just keeps expanding.”
“Expanding to include you, as I’m sure you’ll find out very shortly when you meet Gran. I’m next in line, and then my brother, Tom. He runs several venues on the West End. Although he’s always had his eye on the theater on the island, and I think at some point if he can make it work, he’d like to bring that back to life as well. He has a five-year-old daughter named Aria. We all are wrapped around her little finger. As well we should be.”
There was no mention of a mother. “Is he raising her alone?”
“He is. Her mother is Lyla Imogen, but their relationship didn’t work out, so he is happy to have primary custody of Aria. We’re all happy that he does.”
Josie’s eyebrows rose. “The Lyla Imogen? The pop star?”
“Yes. That one,” he said shortly.
Obviously, there was a great deal more to the story, but she didn’t push for it. She didn’t want to pry into the Sullivans’ family business. She was just curious about Malcolm Sullivan.
“And then my sister Fiona is between Tom and Alice. Her husband’s name is Lewis. He’s a tool.”
Josie looked at Malcolm in surprise. “That’s not mincing words.”
Malcolm’s expression darkened. “He really is a piece of work. Fiona’s intelligent and beautiful and could do so much with her life, but she’s sticking with him, for God knows what reasons.”
“I’m sorry to hear that you think things are so bad in their marriage.”
“Who knows for sure? It’s mostly just whispers and speculation, so I shouldn’t say any more. Hopefully, you’ll get to meet her soon. I think you’ll really like her. And now that I’m thinking about it, she’s the best person to look at some of those furnishings and see how salvageable they are. She’s decorated two massive homes for herself and Lewis and, from the sounds of it, has done pro bono decorating for their entire circle of friends as well.”