Chapter One
‘It’ll be fun,’ said Ellie, packing her sketch book
into her bag as she walked along in the sunshine, ‘especially as it’s our last
summer together before most of us have to join the real world and work for our
living.’
‘So long as I can bring my straighteners,’ said
Liberty, admiring her reflection and flicking back her chestnut mane as they
walked past the refectory window on their university campus. ‘They do have
electricity where we’re going, don’t they?’
‘Of course they do,’ Martha snapped, unable to disguise
the irritation in her voice. With her nose buried in a book, she completely
missed Liberty’s rolling eyes and the grin that passed between her and Cara.
Although the five girls had struck up a friendship since sharing a student
house, the mix of characters and personalities could hardly have been more
different. Martha always remained just a little outside the group. It was Ellie
and Jess, Liberty and Cara, and Martha drifted between the two, happy, for the
most part, to be on her own.
Ellie purposely left out any suggestion that the trip
might involve hard work or dirt, and made light of the fact that the
archaeological dig was in a tiny Hampshire village in the middle of nowhere.
Jess was obsessed with Jane Austen’s books and when she’d found out that volunteers
were needed to find the remains of Jane’s childhood home in Steventon, she’d
not talked about much else. Jess would never have done anything like that by
herself; she’d always been timid with strangers. Ellie knew Jess wanted them
all to go with her, but also realised that if Liberty and Cara had any idea of
what was really expected of them, they might refuse the invitation. Instead,
she focused on the parts she knew would keep them interested.
‘There’s a film crew going, and they’re making a documentary.’
Liberty, the drama student, could hardly contain
herself. ‘OMG, do you think we’ll get to be in it?’
‘Oh, Liberty, our fifteen minutes of fame,’ said Cara,
grabbing her friend’s hand and twirling her round. ‘I’ll have to tell my mum.
When do you think it will be on the telly?’
‘I don’t know exactly, sometime next year, I should
think, but I can tell you who will be presenting it.’
‘Who is it, somebody famous?’ Liberty looked as if she
might explode.
‘Greg Whitely.’ Ellie knew she did not have to say any
more.
Liberty threw her arms around Ellie. ‘But, I’ve been
in love with him forever, and I’ve just always had this feeling that we were
meant to be together. I think I might die at the thought of meeting him.’ Her
hands flew to her mouth. ‘Do you think he’ll be there, Ellie?’
‘I don’t know, maybe not for the whole dig, but
perhaps for some of it.’
‘Well, I shan’t be in any hurry to meet him.’ Martha
closed her book and tucked her lank, mousy hair behind her ears. ‘My mother’s
worked with him and she says he’s an insatiable womaniser.’
‘Even better! Perhaps I could be the one to tame him.
I can just picture it – me in ‘Hello’ magazine on Greg’s arm swathed in satin
and crystals,’ said Liberty, striking a pose, ‘as the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge shower me with confetti.’
‘Dream on, Liberty,’ said Cara with a grin. ‘Martha,
you’re so lucky. It must be wonderful to have an actress for a mother.’
‘No, it’s not,’ said Martha, instantly turning scarlet
to the roots of her hair, a frown wrinkling her forehead. ‘I don’t think you
can have any idea. My childhood was spent largely alone with a succession of
nannies in school holidays, none of whom ever showed me the slightest
affection, whilst my mother travelled the world pursuing her career.’
‘But, you must have seen some incredible actors and
met some of them, too,’ said Liberty, who really excelled at saying exactly the
wrong thing at the worst possible moment.
Ellie knew she should step in before Martha started to
say she wouldn’t be able to come after all. ‘There is someone going on the dig
who I think you’ll be interested to meet, Martha. He’s been on that documentary
series where they only have a week to dig up some bones and then reconstruct
the faces. Will MacGourtey – you know him – he’s an archaeologist – fair hair,
young and quite good-looking.’
‘At least there will be someone worth talking to,
then,’ Martha said as she opened her book again. ‘Intelligent conversation
coupled with the informed knowledge of a first-rate academic is my idea of
heaven – something quite sadly lacking from my life right now.’
The other three exchanged smiles, and Ellie, who was
glad that she now had all three girls on her side, sent up a silent prayer that
they would all continue to be so happy.
Jess was beside herself with joy when Ellie told her
the news. And Liberty looked even more excited when Jess told them that they’d
been invited to stay at her godmother’s house for the duration of the dig.
They were all gathered in the cramped sitting room of
the student house they shared, which didn’t seem big enough for the five
personalities whose belongings lay strewn on every surface. Books and folders,
half-finished essays and sketchbooks jostled for position with pens and
pencils, bottles of nail varnish and tubes of paint.
‘Isn’t she the rich one with the big house?’ Liberty
never took long to get to the point. She put down the book of plays she was
supposed to be reading to bounce onto the sofa next to Jess, hugging her knees
and staring up at Jess’s beautiful face with undisguised anticipation.
Jess laughed. ‘I suppose she is quite wealthy and her
house is a sizeable one. I must admit; I haven’t been there for a while. I was
just a young girl when I last visited. Aunt Mary has lived abroad for most of
the last ten years.’
‘Will she leave you all her money?’ Cara chipped in,
joining her on the other side so Jess was completely wedged in.
‘That’s not very likely, though goodness knows my
family could do with it. My mum and Mary were at teacher training college
together. My mum fell in love with a fellow teacher, but Mary was swept off her
feet by a young man, who swiftly became a millionaire. We’re comfortably off,
but my parents have worked so hard all their lives and Aunt Mary doesn’t really
have a clue. But, she’s always been incredibly generous to my family, and sadly
was unable to have any children of her own.’
‘It’s really kind of her to invite us,’ said Ellie,
‘but does she know what she’s letting herself in for having five girls come to
stay?’
‘Oh, Aunt Mary isn’t going to be there,’ Jess said,
smiling as she recognised the fear in Ellie’s eyes behind the question, ‘she’s
in Tuscany for the summer – we’ve got the place to ourselves!’
The coach picked them up from the university. It was
already half full with an interesting mix of people who, like themselves, had
volunteered for the dig. There was a group of male students from another
university occupying the row at the back of the coach, and Ellie had to stop
Liberty from marching up to them before they’d even found where they were
sitting.
‘We’ve got allocated seats, Liberty and Cara,’ Jess
called, pointing at the two in front of her. Martha sat next to Jess, which
Ellie had agreed beforehand, so she wouldn’t feel left out. As the coach headed
out of Winchester, Ellie watched the urban sprawl gradually left behind: lanes
of verdant green replaced shops, houses and flats. Fields and meadows with
tiny farmhouses in the distance, looked like toy farm sets, their cows and sheep
grazing under oak trees dotted amongst the hedgerows. She was looking forward
to the trip in many ways, and hoped there’d be some opportunities for her to
paint. Google Earth had thrown up some beautiful images of the countryside
around Steventon and Ellie loved nothing more than trying to capture a landscape
in watercolours. It had been her ambition to study illustration for as long as
she could remember and becoming a freelance illustrator was her goal. She was
nervous about the future, but she’d already had a few commissions. Perhaps
being in Jane Austen country would be an inspiration for her painting.
Ellie could hear the guys at the back, some of them
talking far too loudly, showing off whilst evidently trying to get the
attention of Liberty who was constantly looking round. Dressed like any other student,
nevertheless, everything about them suggested out of the ordinary affluence and
confidence exuded from every pore. Rather too much self-assurance, Ellie
thought, and decided they were arrogance personified – snobs of the worst sort.
It crossed her mind that perhaps she was being a little unfair but it seemed to
her they expected everyone to be impressed by them. Ellie made up her mind,
right then, to give them a wide berth.
‘Isn’t it exciting?’ Jess’s face materialised in the
gap between the seats in front, a halo of short blonde curls giving her an
elfin appearance. ‘I can’t believe we are going to be walking on hallowed
ground tomorrow.’
Ellie nodded back as enthusiastically as she could for
Jess’s sake. It was fantastic to see Jess animated and looking well again. This
last twelve months she’d been to hell and back. No one else could have suffered
so much with such strength and courage. Ellie had watched her best friend grow
pale and thin before her diagnosis, and then witnessed her growing sicker with
every session of chemotherapy. When Jess’s long, golden tresses had fallen out
in clumps, it was Ellie who’d cried. Jess had borne it all bravely, saying what
a relief it was not to have to fuss about with hairdryers and hairstyles. But,
that was the type of person Jess was – never thinking of herself, only trying
to make things better for everyone else. Her fellow lecturers and students were
full of admiration for the girl who had managed through it all to hang on to
her dream of becoming a teacher like her mum and dad. She’d had time off from
university, but nothing was going to stop her from going back and completing
her course.
‘I hope we find something exciting. Can you imagine
going to all the effort of digging and nothing of any interest turning up,’
said Ellie.
‘It will be enough for me just to walk in Jane’s
footsteps,’ said Jess, a dreamy expression spreading over her face. ‘I think
they are supposed to be determining exactly where the house stood, initially.
There’s some debate about what the house looked like and its position on the
land. Hopefully, the geophysics will be done by now and they’ll have an idea
where we can start digging!’
Liberty’s head popped over the seat. ‘I’m so glad I
came,’ she said, with one eye on the boys at the back, ‘though, there are more
old people than I expected.’
Martha made a shushing sound. ‘You never know when to
be quiet, do you, Liberty? I like the fact there are lots of different ages
here. It’s wonderful to think that not all people in their seventies are gaga
and are still reasonably mentally alert.’
Ellie wanted to disappear into the fabric of her seat.
The silver-haired woman sitting opposite them looked across disapprovingly and
muttered something about ‘the youth of today’ under her breath.
There was a sudden crackling noise from loud speakers
and a lady brandishing a microphone at the front of the coach stood up to make
a welcome speech, introducing herself as Melanie Button, and thanking the
volunteers for their participation. ‘I hope you’ll all be happy with the
accommodation that’s been arranged. Most of you will be staying in the village
where you’ll meet some of the local volunteers this evening at the reception
party. According to my list, I believe Jess Leigh and her friends have made
their own plans and also Henry Dorsey and Charlie Harden. Am I right?’
Jess waved and gesticulated in their direction. ‘Yes,
we’re all sorted out, Mrs Button, thank you. We’ll have use of a car and be
walking in too, I hope. We’re at Ashe, just a mile away.’
One of the students sitting with the Oxford group
raised his hand. ‘Charlie Harden here, Mrs Button. Henry and I are staying
together – we’re in Deane so we’re not far, either.’
Ellie saw Jess looking at Charlie with interest. He
was good-looking in a fresh-faced way with a mop of sun-bleached curls that
looked even lighter against his tanned skin. He had the sort of piercing
forget-me-not blue eyes that don’t look quite real and it was easy to see why
Jess looked at him, albeit in her own covert way. At least he seemed to have
some manners, which was more than could be said for his friends. The one called
Henry, by contrast, seemed to scowl at her when she caught his eye.
‘Do call me Mel,’ said Mrs Button, smiling broadly at
Charlie and Henry, ‘let’s not stand on ceremony. We’re going to be working very
closely together.’
Liberty barely stifled a giggle and whispered to Cara,
‘She’s old enough to be their mother. Look at that gorgeous Charlie, he looks
frightened to death at the thought of being personally intimate with Ms
Button.’
‘Now, we’re all meeting in the village hall at seven
thirty,’ continued Melanie. ‘We are enormously excited to have Greg Whitely and
Will MacGourtey of Dig your Ancestor fame arriving to kick off the
party, and tell us what’s been accomplished so far. Are you digging
that, ladies?’
There was a ripple of laughter from some of the older
female volunteers and a few groans from some of the young men. And then the
coach stopped. ‘Ashe Rectory,’ called the driver.
Ellie stared at the life-sized doll’s house in front
of them. A doorway surmounted by a beautiful fanlight was set in the centre of
the elegant Georgian façade, its panelled doors opening as they stepped down
from the coach. Wisteria and roses climbed over the rose brick walls and the windows
on either side. On the upper floor, the window under the pediment caught the
glow of the sun in its rectangular panes. The light was blinding, but Ellie
sensed they were being watched and when she shielded her eyes to squint at the
glass, she saw she was right. It was momentary, but the sight of a young man
with pale hair and skin standing at the window made every hair on her body
stand on end. He was looking down at them and, for a moment, Ellie thought that
she knew him. There was something so familiar about the turn of his head and
his stance that caused a flicker of pleasure to quicken inside her, and when,
at last, their eyes met, the sense of recognition and consciousness felt almost
like coming home.
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten
