‘What on earth are you doing?’ Sadie appears, immaculate in a silk jumpsuit and jacket, completely inappropriate for the damp winter chill. ‘I tried the front door, but no one answered so I let myself in the side gate. I hope that’s OK.’
‘Of course. Sorry, I had these in.’ I gesture to the headphones and get to my feet, my knees creaking from being stuck in one position all morning. ‘I’m just sorting the garden out. I thought it might be nice to get it ready in time for the spring.’
‘You could get a gardener to do that.’ Sadie eyes my muddy leggings distastefully and I feel a hot flush working its way to my cheeks.
‘I could… but I wanted to do it myself, for Rupert. Caro kept a nice garden apparently, so I thought he might be missing it.’ I toe one of the patches of dead grass, reminding myself that I need to see to it. ‘I was thinking maybe we could put a pool in? Not a huge one, but somewhere here…’ I wave my arms in a vague circle, ‘it’s not too far from the orangery, and I thought it would be relaxing for Rupe, especially in the summer when he’s cooped up in the office all day. What do you think?’
‘Well, if that’s what you want.’ Sadie shrugs. The idea of a swimming pool is clearly not a big deal to her. ‘If you can handle them digging up the garden when you’ve just planted all this… but yes, I suppose Rupert does love using our pool. And you have the space.’ She shivers dramatically in her thin jumpsuit and scrubs her hands over her arms.
‘Do you want to go in and put the kettle on? I just need to seed these bits where the grass doesn’t seem to grow properly and then I’ll be in.’
Sadie looks relieved to have a reason to get inside, and she scurries in through the orangery door with only the slightest of pauses. I sprinkle the seeds and then stand back to survey my work. Not bad for a first day, I think, a tug of pride nudging a smile onto my face. I can’t wait to see Rupert’s face when he gets home.
Warmth hits my face as I enter the kitchen and I let out a sigh of satisfaction. I hadn’t realized how cold it was out there. I strip off my gloves and take the coffee mug Sadie holds out to me, sinking my aching bones gratefully into the kitchen chair.
‘I can’t believe you’re going to redo that garden all on your own. You must be mad,’ Sadie says, as she eyes me over her coffee cup.
‘It’s not that bad. Once I’ve cleared the overgrown stuff and planted in the gaps it’ll take care of itself. You didn’t used to help Caro with the garden then?’
‘Ha. No, definitely not. And Caro didn’t do that much. She had a gardener who did most of it, up until Rupert started the extension, and then after that… well, you know what happened after that. Rupert left the garden to go wild. It might be a good idea to put a pool in. Change it up a bit out there.’
I pause, my gaze wandering to the open doors of the orangery. I saw Sadie pause, just as she stepped over the threshold, and I know that she is aware that Rupert closed it off after Caro died. ‘Rupert built the orangery for Caro, didn’t he?’ I know he did, but this is my chance to learn more about Caro and what happened.
‘Yes.’ Sadie follows my gaze and lets out a long breath. ‘She was so thrilled with it when it was finished. The light, the view, everything. Just thrilled. Her face when she showed us…’
A memory swims to the surface of my mind – something about a party – and I grope for the words used, before remembering it was at the wedding, those bitchy women talking about a party. ‘Was that the night of the party?’
‘The party?’ Sadie says sharply. ‘Did Rupert tell you about the party?’
I shrug noncommittally and sip my coffee.
‘Yes,’ she goes on eventually, ‘the party was to celebrate the orangery being finished. Caro was so excited, but there was definitely something in the air that night. She looked fantastic, as always.’
‘She did?’ I am thirsty for knowledge; I want to know every little detail. Looking at Caro’s Facebook or reading articles about her online just isn’t the same. I don’t push to know what Sadie means by ‘something in the air that night’, but instead let her speak, her words tumbling out as though someone has pulled a cork.
‘Caro always looked amazing.’ Sadie runs her eyes over me, and I feel every speck of dirt grained into my leggings, the sweat that has beaded and dried at my temples. ‘That night she wore a red, ruffled Givenchy gown – it was too much for a house party, especially in January, but that was Caro all over – with matching kitten heels, and her favourite diamond earrings, ones Rupert had bought her when they got married. Her hair all swept up in some fancy bun. You should have seen Rupert’s face as she came into the room.’
I swallow, her words a sharp dig in my side, but Sadie doesn’t seem to notice, and she carries on talking. ‘It was an… odd night. It was mild for the time of year – there was a storm later that week, I think – and the orangery was warm… too warm, I had to ask Caro to open the door. People drank too much too quickly. I know I did.’ She looks down at her cup. ‘Speaking of which, shall we open some wine? The sun’s over the yardarm somewhere.’ Without waiting for a response, she pushes back her chair and goes to the fridge, helping herself to an unopened bottle of Sancerre. Reminding me that
