Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage Read Free Page A

was also home to three limping geese, all with deformed feet, who still managed to swagger around like drunken John Waynes; and a blind baby goat called Ray who was glued to the side of his sighted twin Roy. In a run with a wooden shelter in the shape of a giant Toblerone were two hedgehogs – a strange albino one who looked as if she would glow in the dark and another with incredibly short prickles, as if he’d had a tough-guy crew cut: they were introduced to Viv as Angel and Bruce Willis. They wouldn’t survive in the wild, Geraldine explained. They’d taken in lots of hedgehogs over the years, and patched them up and sent them out again – but only if they knew they’d be safe. There was a huge black hairy pig called Bertie who had formed an attachment to a beautiful pair of shire horses who looked as if they were wearing shaggy fur boots. As soon as they spotted Geraldine, they started walking across their field towards her.
    Even though there was a sturdy barrier between them, Viv instinctively took a few steps back.
    ‘You don’t have to be scared of Roger and Keith, duck,’ said Geraldine. ‘They’re as gentle as spring lambs.’
    ‘They’re huge.’ The hairs on the back of Viv’s neck stood up as two tonnes of horse approached the fence. They could cause a lot of damage if they were suddenly spooked: flatten her like a pancake, kick her into Kingdom Come. She’d err on the side of caution, thank you, and not get too close.
    ‘Roger and Keith have been at Wildflower Cottage for ten years,’ explained Geraldine. ‘Heath’s father took in four shires from a disgusting farm near Saddleworth, but Pete didn’t make it through the first night and we lost John only a few weeks ago.’ She sighed. ‘He was such a dear fellow. I’m only glad that he had a few safe, happy years with us. He’s buried in our graveyard with all his sanctuary brothers and sisters behind the house. I can’t bear the thought if we have to—’ She pulled herself up short and shook her head. ‘Anyway,’ she said then, as if she was forcing herself to move on. She extracted a tube of Polo mints from her pocket. ‘Want to give one to the horses?’
    Viv declined hurriedly.
    Geraldine tilted her head and looked down into the eyes of the much shorter Viv. ‘I must say, you’re not at all what I expected.’
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘In a nice way, I mean,’ Geraldine said. ‘Some people have sounded perfect on the phone and when they arrive . . . well, I’ve known I’ve made a huge mistake. But I don’t get that feeling with you. Though you’re not at all confident around animals, are you?’
    ‘I wouldn’t do them any harm,’ Viv replied quickly, to dispel any fears Geraldine might have on that score. ‘But admin is more my thing.’
    ‘Well, that’s what we need really. Someone efficient. Heath has let things slide and hasn’t got the time to sort out the backlog and I’m not very good at that sort of thing. I can’t use computers and I don’t like being on the telephone, as you might have been able to tell. I much prefer to roll up my sleeves and pull a pair of wellies on.’
    ‘I passed a lady on a black horse when I drove down the hill. Is that one of your animals too?’ asked Viv. Did she see Geraldine bristle slightly?
    ‘No. That’ll be Antonia Leighton. She lives up in the castle at the top of the hill. Let’s go and get that cuppa,’ said Geraldine. ‘Are you hungry? That’s one good thing about working here; everyone in Ironmist thinks we’re starving, so they’re always sending us cakes and bread from the bakery and pies, butter, vegetables, you name it. It’s a very kind place.’
    So that was Antonia Leighton
, thought Viv. She hadn’t recognised her because she looked very different from the smiling picture she had seen in the glossy magazine. She was the daughter of Nicholas Leighton, the man that her friend Hugo had said would be a very useful person to get to know. And he was the real reason