10 Chapter 10

They stood, and as Hawkins showed him the door, he pulled out a sheaf of papers from his pocket. He looked over them as they walked and pushed his spectacles further up his nose.

“I made some notes last night about how I think that the garden should work, and how we might get the best out of the land. I’d appreciate you glancing over them and letting me know what you think.” He handed the sheaf to Sebastian.

He took them, gingerly, as though they might explode on contact with his hand.

He swallowed and pushed them into his jacket. “I’ll look over this with Coulson and let you know.”

Hawkins looked as though he might pursue the matter, so Sebastian strode out towards the entrance to the house. “So, how many horses did you say that you had?”6

Hawkins took him outside to meet with Coulson and Blackstone. They were standing in the middle of the garden, hands on hips, gesticulating at the vista before them and appeared to be arguing about how many cabbages the garden needed.