It was getting late by the time Maddie heard the front door go and she jumped at the sudden noise and intrusion into her thoughts. There was a shouted hello and she rose stiffly from the chair to make her own greeting. Seth was standing in the hallway, a plastic folder and car keys in hand, looking, frankly, exhausted.

‘Hi.’ She smiled warmly.

His eyes moved to the space on the wall where the picture had recently hung, a look of alarm overtaking the smile that had begun to form.

‘Don’t worry, I have it,’ she was quick to reassure him. ‘It’s safe on the desk in the office. Good day? You look tired, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘So do you,’ he countered. ‘Long day, yes. Good day… possibly. I’ve been in London.’

‘London?’ Her heart began to beat a tiny bit faster. This couldn’t have anything to do with her, could it?

He grinned. ‘Yeah, big place. You know, capital city? Where the Queen lives?’

‘Oh, ha ha,’ she retorted. ‘I’m just a bit surprised, that’s all, I didn’t think it was somewhere you usually went.’

‘Well, I try very hard not to. This was just for a meeting I have to attend every now and again. Nothing to get excited about. How about you, what sort of a day have you had?’

‘I’ve had an… interesting day.’ She couldn’t help but let the sentence dangle.

He gave her an odd look, and then flicked his gaze to the wall again.

‘That have anything to do with it?’ he asked.

‘Probably.’ She grinned. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before, or its significance. I’ve spent the last few hours on the internet, finding out not very much at all, if I’m honest.’ She paused. ‘I tidied up and sorted stuff out first, but then I got sort of hooked, trying to find out about our elusive painter. Joy doesn’t seem to have been particularly noteworthy.’

Another look she couldn’t decipher the meaning of.

‘Perhaps you were barking up slightly the wrong tree?’ He glanced at his watch, causing Maddie to do the same.

‘Flipping heck, is that the time? I meant to cook something for dinner, but then… I’ll go and do it now.’

Seth followed her into the kitchen, dropping his keys on the table. ‘Maddie, there’s no hurry. I tell you what, I’m just going to go and get changed and then we can sort something out. Maybe some fish and chips? I don’t feel like cooking, and I don’t suppose you do either. I’ll come and have a look at the office first though.’

He let her go ahead.

‘Well, I’ve made a start anyway,’ she said. ‘It’s nowhere near properly organised but I think it’s better than it was.’

‘I’ll say,’ he said, peering into the room. ‘That’s a huge improvement. You can see the floor… and the desk.’ He indicated the computer, whose screen saver was now rolling up a series of pretty landscapes. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to work from here?’ he asked. ‘If there’s anything you particularly need we can sort it out.’

‘A few bits of stationery, nothing major,’ Maddie replied. She picked up the painting from the desk. ‘I’ll just go and hang this back up again.’

She got as far as the door.

‘Seth?’ she said, turning round. ‘You said just now I was barking up slightly the wrong tree? What did you mean?’

He crossed to the bookcase and studied it for a moment. ‘So, I’m guessing you found the auction catalogue or you wouldn’t have made the connection with the painting, but I did wonder whether or not you’d found this?’

He pulled out a slender leather-bound volume from the shelf. ‘But I guess not. You see, Cordelia Joy Davenport’s story is fascinating in itself, but Davenport was her maiden name; locally she was known as Mrs Hall, and Edwin Hall’s story is perhaps even more interesting.’

He handed her the book. ‘Have a read while I go and get sorted.’

---

Maddie was still reading when Seth appeared a while later with two plates of fish and chips on a tray. She swung her legs out from under her and laid the book down beside her.

‘I haven’t quite finished it yet, but I can see why the story fascinates you so much.’

He handed her the tray and crossed the room to switch on a lamp. ‘Quite something, isn’t it?’

‘But is it true though? This is just one villager’s account of events and, heart-breaking as it is, I can see that it would have been tempting to overly romanticise the story.’

‘That’s a very cynical view, Miss Porter,’ replied Seth, but he was smiling. ‘I’ve found other evidence over time to back up the story.’ He took his plate from her and went to sit in an armchair opposite. ‘I know a lot of folk nowadays who don’t handle mental health issues particularly well, but if you suffered from bipolar back then and didn’t have a husband to support you, there was only one place you were going to…’

‘An asylum?’

Seth nodded. ‘And don’t forget there were no real treatments available as there are today – when Joy’s black dog came upon her she would have potentially been a very real danger to herself, and possibly others. In Edwin’s eyes the only way he could keep her safe was to build this place for her. She was free to roam the countryside as she pleased, safe from the prying eyes of others, and during the good times she was inspired to paint with utter brilliance.’

‘It really was a grand gesture, wasn’t it? I can’t imagine loving anyone that much.’

‘No?’ replied Seth, his eyes locking on hers for a moment. A flicker of an emotion she couldn’t define rippled through them, but then he looked away, and the only indication of his mood was a slight tightening of his jawline. ‘Of course, Edwin was a wealthy man, which helped. I doubt many men would have been able to carry out such a gesture even if they had wanted to.’

Maddie shook her head. ‘No, I suppose not. And so Joy was able to live out her days, safe and cared for, and create her beautiful works of art.’ She took a mouthful of food, thinking. ‘But was it really true that all those other people lived here too? Were they relatives of hers?’

Seth shook his head. ‘There’s nothing to suggest that they were, but the census records certainly support the information that this was their home. The Victorians were a righteous lot and I’m sure it would have been considered quite scandalous at the time. My own view is that, in her more lucid spells, Joy decided that she wanted to help other people like herself and so she researched some likely candidates and invited them to live here, with Edwin’s permission of course. We can really only guess at Edwin’s motives for going along with it, but I think perhaps by then he would have done anything for her…’

‘That’s quite an undertaking.’

‘An original philanthropist no less. I also like to ponder that perhaps these people were somehow drawn here… That can happen in certain places, where people who need help of one sort or another all gravitate together.’

She gave him a sideways glance. ‘Hmm, I’m not sure about that, but it’s still a lovely story. Perhaps when we start to look at how we market Joy’s Acre we could use it, it would draw people here in droves.’

As soon as she said it, she could see she’d overstepped the mark. Seth, who’d been busy forking up his food, went rigid; his hand, which was halfway to his mouth, froze in mid-air.

‘I’m sorry,’ she blurted out, ‘that was a stupid thing to say. I’ve still got my marketing head on and in many ways it could be the perfect angle to pin our publicity on… But I can see how it might cheapen Edwin and Joy’s memories…’

She wondered whether she’d blown it by being so thoughtless. Things had been so much better between her and Seth over the last day or so, and she didn’t want to change that. She could kick herself sometimes. However, Seth merely lowered his fork gently to his plate and gave her a sad smile.

‘It’s not that so much, just… I had a different idea in mind, but no matter for now. And you’re probably right; their story would create something of a talking point.’ He stared down at his plate for a few seconds, his lips pursed together. ‘You said you haven’t quite finished the book yet?’

‘No. I’m two or three chapters from the end I think.’

‘So, you won’t know that in the end even Edwin’s love couldn’t save Joy. She killed herself the day before her forty-eighth birthday.’

Maddie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘No! Oh, that’s so sad.’

‘There are some things we can’t alter no matter how hard we try.’

The sentence dangled in the space between them, the words laying a trail to something beyond. But was it an invitation, or a warning? Maddie’s eyes began to prickle as the sorrow in Seth’s voice made it clear it was the latter.

‘What happened?’ she whispered.

‘She drowned herself in a well that sits just behind the cottages. She threw herself down, knowing she couldn’t swim.’

Maddie gulped as a tide of emotion swept over her, visions of Joy filling her head; struggling for breath, cold and alone and filled with despair. It was awful. She fished in her pocket for a tissue, wiping beneath her eyes. There was a clatter from across the room as Seth hastily put down his plate. In a moment he was beside her, filling the space on the settee so that his thighs were only inches from her own.

‘Maddie, I’m sorry, that was crass of me.’ He handed her a hanky. ‘Are you okay?’ He laid a hand on her arm, his eyes searching hers.

She sniffed, nodding. ‘Yes, I just… it was the surprise, that’s all. That poor woman.’ She took a deep breath, trying to regain control of her emotions.

‘I shouldn’t have just thrown it at you like that. I guess for many Victorians that might have been considered a ripe old age, but that doesn’t lessen its impact here. It gets to me every time too.’

And it had, Maddie could see that. Her own reaction wasn’t a surprise, her emotions were still a bit all over the place and she had always cried easily, but Seth had known this story for a long while, had researched it even, and yet it still visibly moved and affected him. His dark eyes glinted in the lamplight, his expression intense; a suggestion of emotion in them she couldn’t clarify. If she didn’t know better, she would have said he was close to tears as well. She felt herself begin to tremble. She couldn’t ask, she wasn’t sure she even wanted to know, but there would be a reason for his behaviour just as there was for hers…

She was anxious to move things along. ‘So what happened to Edwin?’

‘He stayed here.’ Seth flicked his eyes away and she felt the connection between them break. ‘Don’t forget, by then, there were four other people living here, all of whom were either sick or had mental health issues of their own. Edwin continued to do what he had promised Joy he would, and so time just moved on I guess.’

She gave her nose another wipe as something suddenly occurred to her. ‘They lived in the cottages, didn’t they, they must have?’

‘Yes.’ Seth smiled. ‘Edwin had the cottages built, not for estate workers as would usually have been the case, but for his “guests”. They’re not quite as old as the main house here.’

Maddie nodded towards his chair on the other side of the room, suddenly anxious to put some distance between them.

‘Sorry, I interrupted your eating. Please, go and finish your dinner.’

She received an appraising glance, but Seth got up just the same and returned to his seat.

‘So what happened to Joy’s paintings? I don’t know much about art but she doesn’t seem to have been well known, either in her own time or now. Maybe they stayed with the family.’

‘Edwin and Joy had no children, so there’s no real family to speak of. That wasn’t quite the issue though…’

There was something in Seth’s voice that made her look up. ‘Oh God, what now?’

‘As far as I’m aware there are only four paintings in existence. I have one, which sits in the hallway, and the other three I’ve been trying to track down for years. They’ll turn up eventually.’

She hardly dared to ask. ‘So what happened to all the others? Four paintings is not much to show for a lifetime’s work, even one that was cut short.’

Seth took a deep breath. ‘Joy destroyed them all. Just before she killed herself. The scourge of the creative mind perhaps; to always doubt your own talent.’

‘And the four that were salvaged were elsewhere, I suppose?’

‘Here in the house, I’m presuming. That’s how they survived.’

She closed her eyes and nodded briefly, opening them again and resolutely spearing several chips at once.

‘We should finish these,’ she said. ‘Before everything gets really cold.’

The room fell silent as they both ate, lost in their own thoughts. Maddie could see why Seth was in love with this place. It was beautiful, she realised; the setting, the landscape, everything. She’d been so caught up in having to move away from London that she’d focused on the negatives of living in the country, never even considering what it had to offer. But put this together with such an emotive back story, and why wouldn’t you want to live here?

She felt as if she’d been walking around with blinkers on since she’d arrived, and it had taken Joy and her bittersweet story to remove them. No wonder Seth had taken such offence at her ideas; they were ridiculous. This afternoon had sown the seeds of how things ought to be here at Joy’s Acre and this conversation reinforced everything.

This time, however, she was not about to make the assumption that she knew best. This time, she would make sure that she fully understood Seth and his reasons for being here. As much as she could anyway; she was only too aware that there was a lot more to him than first appeared. She finished chewing and cleared her throat.

‘So in a way, Joy’s Acre was a sanctuary of sorts, wasn’t it? Holiday cottages aside, I’m just wondering how you see it now?’

‘Ah, the eternal dilemma…’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘Right now, I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. You’re spot on in your assessment of how I’d really like to see things take shape here, but I have to be a realist too. First and foremost we need to make money before we can think of our longer-term goals, it’s as simple as that. Initially I thought along the lines of making Joy’s Acre a retreat, which I think fits best with my vision of how things were in Joy’s day, but they’re usually partly charity funded and are either religious or have a particular theme as a space for artists, or meditation, that kind of thing. That’s too exclusive and I also don’t have the funds to subsidise that kind of environment. I need money coming in, not going out, and so for the time being I think the only way forward is to offer the cottages for holidays. That way we start to make money immediately, it keeps Agatha happy, and it will also allow us to develop plans for the future and guide Joy’s Acre to where we ultimately want it to be.’

‘I agree that Agatha’s more likely to support a holiday-let business. I love the idea of the cottages being here for people who need them but I can’t see Agatha going for that kind of set-up, can you? She doesn’t strike me as the charitable sort.’

‘She wants a return on her investment, which is fair enough. I don’t like the way Agatha conducts her business, but it’s her affair, and although she might be able to stipulate how things are done, she can’t change how I see the world. As long as I have that, there are always ways to… bend things to make them fit.’

Maddie thought about his words. They made perfect sense and she was glad he wasn’t looking for Joy’s Acre to become some sort of hippie ‘new age’ centre, she didn’t think she could cope with that. It wasn’t that she had anything against people who wanted to live that way, but in her experience they were often very keen to shove their enlightened way of life down your throat in a way that was anything but enlightened.

‘So, where do we go from here?’

Seth scratched his head. ‘I’ve tied myself in knots thinking how I can achieve what I want and get the best of both worlds. Now I reckon I’ve been overthinking it. Because if it’s going to, it will happen of its own accord anyway. I’m a firm believer in fate playing a key role. I mean, you’re here, aren’t you?’

She frowned at him. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

He gave her a very direct look. ‘Me, Tom, Clara, and now you. We’re all up shit creek without a paddle. To a greater or lesser extent, granted, but—’

‘I am not!’ she protested.

‘No? You could have fooled me.’ He held her look for a moment. ‘Get to know us, Maddie, and you’ll find that we all have… things in our lives… and you’re no different.’ He smiled. ‘It’s not a criticism, far from it, it’s an opportunity as far as I’m concerned. That’s what I meant when I said I think things here will happen of their own accord, that people will be drawn to us because they have need of us. Sure, there are people who’ll come here on holiday, eat too much, drink too much, sightsee and then go home again without a care in the world, but I think, perhaps in between, there will also be people who will take something else home with them. ’

Maddie stared at him.

‘So, in answer to your question, I think what we do here is crack on. We need to get these cottages ready and open for business as soon as possible… and then we wait and see what happens. So if you’ve got some amazing ideas up your sleeve, now would be a good time to hear them.’

She thought back to her time in the garden, to the intense feelings that had swept over her as she finally realised what Joy’s Acre was all about. Her time with Seth had only served to reinforce that, and she felt a rush of energy.

‘Oh yeah,’ she said. ‘I’ve got some ideas all right. I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?’