The Blue Rose

on her plate.’

‘How about a glass of champagne?’

‘Are we celebrating?’

Kate was about to answer when the doorbell rang.

‘Seven thirty,’ Alex said, with a frown, looking at his watch. ‘Are you expecting anybody?’

‘No. You stay put, I’ll go and see who it is.’

‘Pray that it’s not our friend the doctor,’ Alex called out after her.

Kate opened the heavy oak door just as the doorbell rang a second time. Standing outside on the step, thumb still on the button, was Graham Cooke.

‘Graham,’ she said. ‘What brings you here?’ He was wearing the same shabby Donegal suit as at their last meeting and held a slim leather portfolio.

‘I’m sorry about just showing up like this, but I’m going away for a few days tomorrow and this couldn’t wait.’

‘It’s not about your aunt, is it?’ Kate asked, her voice overshadowed with concern.

‘In a way. May I come in?’ His manner was brusque and bordering on antagonistic.

‘Of course,’ she said, injecting as much pleasantness into her voice as she could muster. ‘This way.’

As Kate led Graham into the sitting room she noticed his eyes darting around, obviously appraising the changes since his aunt’s departure. ‘Can I get you anything?’ she asked? ‘Tea? Coffee? A drink maybe?’

‘No thanks, Mrs Sheppard. I won’t stay for more than a moment. I don’t anticipate this taking long at all.’

Alex stood up as the two of them entered. ‘Graham – what brings you here?’

Graham sat down in a leather wing chair, placing the portfolio on his lap. He licked his lips, quickly wiping them dry with the palm of his hand. ‘It’s about the rose in your garden. The one my uncle created. The blue rose.’

Kate’s gasp was not loud enough to hear.

Alex had a look of incomprehension on his face.

For several seconds there was an uneasy silence.

‘Recently,’ Graham continued, ‘I engaged the services of a solicitor, to find out who rightfully owns the rose in question. My aunt and I feel – correctly so, as it turns out – that the rose legally belongs to us. If it were known, at the time you bought The Parsonage, that a very valuable rose existed on the property we would, of course, never have sold it to you. As you probably know by now, the value of the rose is inestimable. Hundreds – many hundreds of times that of the property.’

‘You can’t be serious,’ Alex said, finally having found his voice. ‘What do you mean by “correctly so”?’

‘The overriding argument, here – and it’s all been legally established – is that my aunt and I were disadvantaged by the transaction and therefore it should be voided. Meaning that title of The Parsonage reverts back to our family. Accordingly, we are entitled to possession of the rose. You simply get your money back.’

Kate’s heart sank. Lose the rose and The Parsonage?

Alex’s expression had changed to one of annoyance. ‘Now just wait a minute,’ he snapped. ‘How do you know it was your uncle who hybridized it?’

‘I have proof of that – but let me continue.’ Graham opened the portfolio and withdrew an envelope. ‘You might want to take a look at this. I think you’ll find that it spells out our position quite clearly.’ He handed the sealed envelope to Alex. ‘Oh, yes. You asked for proof that my uncle propagated the rose.’

‘That’s right, I did,’ Alex replied.

‘You’ll recall my uncle’s journals? The ones you borrowed?’

Kate’s heart sank further.

‘You still have them, don’t you?’

‘Yes, we do,’ said Alex.

Kate glanced at Alex. She could see that he was getting rankled.

‘Well,’ said Graham, ‘if you examine the hybridizing dates – the only entries not in code – you’ll discover a break in the sequence between two of the books. There’s a journal missing.’ He paused, then said, ‘I have that journal.’

Kate leaned forward. ‘And…’

‘The crossing formula – I believe that’s what you call it – for the blue rose is in that journal.’

‘But if it’s in code, how can you be so sure?’ asked Kate.

‘Look, how I found out is really none of your business. Just take my word for it that the formula to create a blue rose is in that book.’

‘I’m just curious. How did you know which specific journal contained the formula?’ Alex asked.

Graham heaved a sigh. His patience was clearly coming to an end. ‘If you must know,’ he said, ‘the book in question was never with the others. According to my aunt it was in a safety deposit box along with some other valuables. After Uncle Jeffrey died, she couldn’t figure out why on earth he’d put it there. When she told me about it, frankly, neither could I. Eventually, it was put in with the other books and they were all put away and forgotten about. It’s a miracle, in fact, that they weren’t chucked out. But when you two showed up and started asking about Uncle’s roses and his records, I suddenly realized its significance. That there was a very good reason, indeed, why Uncle had locked that book away.’

Kate looked away from Graham to Alex and then to the envelope in Alex’s hand.

‘I suppose we might as well look at it now,’ she said, in a dejected voice.

Alex opened the envelope and withdrew the one-page letter, which bore the letterhead of a Newbury law firm, Stanhope, Stanhope and Crouch, Barristers and Solicitors. Together, they started to read it:

Dear Mr and Mrs Sheppard,I represent Mr Graham Cooke. He is the nephew of Mrs Cooke, from whom you recently acquired the property wherein you now reside, commonly known as The Parsonage.Mr Cooke informs me that a certain rose bush, unique in all the world, grows in a corner of the Parsonage premises; that its existence was unknown to both his aunt and you at the time of offer, acceptance, and conveyance of the property; and that, because of its uniqueness, it imparts a value to the property far exceeding your purchase price.It thus is apparent, applying settled legal doctrine, that Mrs Cooke and yourselves entered into the transaction on the basis of a ‘mutual mistake’ of major proportions concerning the property’s value; that, but for this mistake, the transaction would not have happened; and that the transaction therefore is voidable at the seller’s instance.My purpose in writing is to advise you that Mr Cooke, on behalf of his aunt and with her authorization, is prepared to initiate legal action to void the transaction. Before taking that extreme step, however, he proposes a compromise whereby: (1) you would retain title to The Parsonage, (2) ownership of the subject rose bush would be restored to Mrs Cooke, and (3) the rose bush would be removed from the Parsonage premises at a mutually acceptable time.I suggest you call me at your early convenience to arrange a meeting, in my office, to consider Mr Cooke’s eminently fair and reasonable proposal. Hearing nothing from you by 15th August, we will undertake legal action.I caution you, pending resolution of this matter, not to sell, pledge, move, take cuttings from, or otherwise propagate, disturb, or tamper with the subject rose bush in any manner whatsoever.Very truly yours,Alexander Q. Stanhope

Still holding the letter, Alex looked up at Graham. Alex’s face was grim. ‘Graham,’ he said, ‘I think you’d better leave. There’s obviously nothing more to be said. We’ll refer this to our solicitor tomorrow.’

Graham tucked the portfolio under his arm and stood, ready to leave.

‘When you think about it,’ he said, ‘if I own the hybridizing formula and am presumably capable of reproducing the blue rose, possessing the rose itself becomes moot, doesn’t it?’

‘We’ll see about that,’ said Alex.

Graham turned and started toward the door.

‘Hang on a minute,’ said Kate, taking the letter from Alex and studying it. ‘I’m curious.’