Wildflower Park Series. Bella Osborne

start to the work bonding session. Anna was unhappy at going away and leaving Maurice but her mum had promised to call round twice a day to feed him and give him a cuddle. Anna had decided she wouldn’t mention the two mice he’d brought round for a play date, which she’d had to catch and release into the park. She had suggested her mum might want to have a chat to Maurice as he was probably used to the conversations Anna had with him daily. Her mum had then proceeded to question her mental health, which was thoughtful but a little unnecessary.

      After the short ride from the station the taxi deposited Anna and Sophie at the farmhouse where they were welcomed by a tall, ruddy man in a well-worn green jumper. Anna was pleased to discover they were the first to arrive. The farmer strode off to show them the barn and Sophie dragged her wheelie case across the muddy puddled ground with gusto, mud splashing up the sides. Anna was glad to get inside and dropped her bag by the door.

      ‘Toilets and showers here,’ he said, gesturing to the left. He opened a door to their right where there was a wood burner in front of three large sofas. ‘Kitchen at the back, that’s it downstairs. Two dorms upstairs. Here’s a key. Lunch will be up at the farmhouse at 1 p.m. I’ll do the health and safety briefing after lunch and then we’ll head off to the top field and show you the ropes with dry-stone. Give us a shout if you need anything else.’

      ‘Thanks,’ said Anna, taking the key and shutting the door behind him as he strode out into the rain.

      ‘I like this place. It’s rustic,’ said Sophie, shaking off her wet coat and hanging it up by the door where it liberally dripped onto the flagstone floor.

      So far, so good, thought Anna, picking up her bag and heading upstairs. The two rooms were identical with three sets of built-in bunk beds each, open shelving and views across rolling countryside crisscrossed by pale-coloured dry-stone walls. Anna laid claim to a top bunk near the window. She’d briefly had bunk beds when she was a child but a change in circumstances had seen her room redecorated and the bunk beds had disappeared. Sophie flopped down on the bed underneath Anna’s and stretched out.

      ‘Ooh, comfy bed. I might not move from here. Two days of sleep should just about catch me back up. I’m fed up of being tired all the time. It’s really tiring.’ There wasn’t even a hint of irony in her voice.

      Anna turned and spotted herself in a large wood-framed mirror. She looked a fright. The rain had made her straight dark hair limp and her make-up had run.

      ‘The caught-in-the-rain look is always attractive.’ Anna wiped away the dripping mascara from under her eyes.

      Sophie joined her at the mirror and studied herself. ‘My neck’s gone all red and blotchy.’

      ‘Another lusty flush and Hudson’s not even here yet.’

      Sophie opened her mouth to speak but the sound of the door opening downstairs stopped her.

      ‘Hey, anyone at home?’ came Hudson’s dulcet tones.

      ‘Bugger,’ said Anna with feeling, giving her eyes one last sweep with her fingers before she headed downstairs to meet him, zhooshing up her hair as she went. She found him hanging up his coat. His hair was wet but it seemed a quick headshake and a rough comb with his fingers was all it needed to have him pristine again. Something else to add to the long list of things she didn’t like about him.

      ‘Hey, Anna. This place is great. Shall we go and explore?’ He reminded her of someone from the Famous Five, but in a good way.

      ‘Yes, let’s,’ came the equally Enid Blyton response from Sophie who was now barrelling down the stairs at speed.

      ‘Hey, Sophie, you look amazing.’ He kissed her cheek lightly and Anna tried not to frown at the difference in warmth level of the greetings. But why did she care? She didn’t.

      ‘Aww, you’re just saying that. Come and pick your bed,’ said Sophie, turning around and heading back upstairs. For someone who was tired out a few minutes ago she’d made a remarkable recovery. Hudson definitely had a confidence-boosting effect on Sophie, although given the reaction of all the females in the office, she wasn’t alone.

      While Sophie was showing Hudson around, the door opened and pretty much everyone else arrived, instantly filling up the small space and creating a large puddle in the hallway. It didn’t take long to sort out who was sleeping where and for opinions to be shared on the mixed shower and toilet situation. Anna tried to point out that if they were staying at someone’s house it would be the same but with four showers and three toilets they were fairly well covered.

      Anna was handing out a quiz to help everyone relax when she spotted a taxi pull up outside. Roberta got out and headed towards the farmhouse. She was hunkered down due to the rain. Anna was watching her as a second person with their head covered by a hoodie got out from the taxi and ran to join her.

      ‘Right, everyone. Looks like Roberta’s arrived. We’d better head over to the farmhouse. You can complete the quiz over lunch.’ She was still speaking as she shrugged on her coat. She was interested to find out who the other person was – everyone she had been told to invite was here. The rain lashed at her as she opened the door and she wished she’d brought a coat with a hood. She turned up her collar and jogged across to the farmhouse with the others trailing behind her. The farmer opened the door and ushered everyone inside where they made more puddles with their wet coats.

      They gathered in a very large conservatory where Roberta was waiting for them and she went straight into corporate mode and gave them a pep talk. Anna was only half listening. She was squeezing rain from her hair and trying to work out where the other person had gone and who they were. Anna tuned back in again.

      ‘The question is: who’s in my canoe?’ asked Roberta. She was deadly serious.

      A few hands started to go up and Anna joined in. Karl leaned over. ‘Heading for shit creek without a …’ Anna nudged him because Roberta was glaring at them. Roberta went on to explain that she wouldn’t be taking part in the dry-stone walling as she had to get back to the office for important meetings.

      ‘This project is paramount to the company and to that end we have a consultant joining us for the next three months to ensure that we maximise its potential,’ said Roberta, gesturing to the back of the room. Everyone turned in unison to see the figure standing in the doorway. Anna tried to swallow but her throat was bone-dry.

      ‘This is Liam Tinch. He has extensive experience in Lean Methodologies and is so excited to be part of the team that he volunteered to start early and join you for the next couple of days.’

      Liam made his way to the front whilst Sophie repeatedly patted Anna’s arm as if trying to alert her to what she could see very plainly for herself. At no point did his eyes alight on Anna. She was standing with her mouth open until she realised and shut it hastily.

      ‘Thanks, Roberta. No speech from me. I’m thrilled to be here. Please treat me like one of the team. I can’t wait to get started.’ Anna stared at him. Too many questions were flooding her mind as well as a number of expletives. A clammy sensation drifted over her and she tried hard to distil all the hurt into anger.