 Wild
Designs
Saddled with too large a house – albeit in
a beautiful Cotswolds village – worrisome mortgage payments,
a bossy younger sister and irksome ex-husband, Althea still manages
to muddle through life comfortably enough.
Until she loses her job. Seeking solace in her borrowed
greenhouse, Althea decides to develop her passion for gardening.
And when she wins the opportunity to design a garden at the Chelsea
Flower Show – with the unexpected help of gorgeous architect
Patrick Donahugh – it looks as though Althea may have unearthed
a new man as well as a new career …
Chapter One
‘Mum,’ said a voice, reproachful yet forgiving. ‘Have
you been drinking orange juice straight out of the carton again?’
Althea made a gesture of admission and apology tinged with indignation
at being found out. ‘It had gone all thick, anyway, you wouldn’t
have drunk it.’
Her seventeen-year-old son shook his shaven head in mock reproof.
‘I didn’t want to dirty a glass,’ she went on.
‘I only wanted a drop.’ Asserting her motherhood, she
continued: ‘If you ever rinsed out a mug, or even loaded the
washing-up machine, you’d appreciate my economy.’
‘A dishwasher is what we call it nowadays.’
‘I don’t care what you call it, sweetie, just occasionally
put something in it!’
William, tall, slightly spotty and to his mother’s eyes quite
beautiful, marred his looks with a grin full of metal. The train-tracks,
top and bottom, added a bizarre touch to his broad smile. The combination
of smile and braces was irresistible and she smiled back.
‘Juno’s coming round soon.’ Althea was hoping
that her son would take the hint and help her tidy up.
‘Is she? That’ll be fun for you.’ William didn’t
approve of Juno, she was too materialistic and bound up in ‘self’.
But then, as a Buddhist, he applied this epithet to most people.
Althea sighed. ‘Do give me a hand. You know how critical
she is.’
‘She’s your sister – your younger sister. If
you don ’t mind living in a mess, why should it bother her?’
‘I don’t like living in a mess. It’s just something
that happens to me. And it does bother her, you know it does. She
tells me off.’
‘That’s your problem, Mum. You allow people to walk
over you.’
‘Yes, and you’ve got the biggest feet.’
‘Nonsense. I only want the best for you.’
Cover Illustration: Mary Claire Smith; Calligraphy: Stephen Raw
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