Sarah Bennett - Bluebell Castle

‘They’ll get over it,’ Arthur said as the three of them returned to the family room. ‘What are you up to?’

Resuming her spot on the floor, Iggy glanced up at him. ‘Tristan is going to help me with a plan for the gardens.’ She spread out a couple of the drawings then sat back on her heels.

Arthur hunkered down beside her. ‘You said earlier about not knowing what to leave and what to change. Show me what you mean.’

‘See, here?’ She pointed at a complicated pattern of hedges and pathways. ‘This was the original layout for the Lady’s garden.’ The most formal part of the grounds, it had once been the highlight of the gardens with its sculptured topiaries and regimented flower beds. Using her finger, she traced the central feature, a flowerbed surrounded by a ring of curlicue hedges. ‘At some point this was removed and replaced with that ugly bronze fountain.’

‘The one with the hideous dolphins, or whatever they’re supposed to be?’ Arthur laughed. ‘You used to be terrified of them when we were kids.’

Iggy gave a shudder. Like something out of a nightmare, the oddly shaped creatures spewing water from grinning jaws full of razor-sharp teeth still freaked her out. Whoever had sculpted them had clearly never seen anything that actually lived in the ocean. ‘I’d love to rip those horrible things out and get them melted down. I can follow this plan and reinstate that part of the garden, but it will take several years for the hedges to grow in properly, so it might end up looking a bit sparse and disappointing.’

‘Can’t you use mature plants?’

She shook her head. ‘It’d be better in the long run to use smaller plants that can grow together and eventually merge into what looks like one seamless plant. Bigger ones won’t create the same uniform effect.’ She sighed. ‘It would be easier to compromise by just removing the sculpture and turning the base of the fountain into a reflecting pool. I can add a few water lilies and aquatics.’

‘I think you should go for recreating the original design,’ Arthur said. ‘No one is going to expect the gardens to be perfect, Iggy.’

‘But we’re asking people to spend their hard-earned money,’ she argued. ‘We need to put on a display for them.’

‘And you will, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t you think people will be more interested in the story of how you’ve gone about the restoration? We could put up some display boards, either out in the gardens themselves, or as part of the indoor exhibitions Lucie and I are planning. Some before, during and after photos would be a great addition.’

It hadn’t really occurred to her before, but it sounded promising. ‘I suppose so, but I’m looking for ways to reduce the amount of work I have to do, not add to it.’

The door swung open to admit Tristan and their Uncle Lancelot. ‘What’s this? Have you started without me?’ Tristan joined them on the carpet whilst Lancelot made his way over to the drinks’ cabinet in the corner.

Arthur filled him in, finishing with, ‘But as Iggy’s rightly pointed out, it’ll be more work not less.’

‘I think it’s great. Especially if we’re thinking in the longer term. If we want to offer something like annual admittance passes for the grounds, for example, people will enjoy seeing how things change over the months and years.’ He caught Iggy’s eye ‘And, it gets you off the hook trying to get everything finished in time.’

She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Think about it. Photos are all well and good, but if you leave some parts of the garden wild like they are now, the visual contrast will have even more impact. And don’t worry about the work, I’ll take on the responsibility for the displays.’ Tristan turned to Lucie. ‘Would you be able to give me a hand with the copy? Maybe a few nice quotes about the gardens if you’ve come across any in the family journals?’

Lucie beamed. ‘Oh, what a good idea! I’m sure I can come up with something.’

‘That’s settled then.’ He clapped his hands together. ‘Now all we have to do is decide what you’re going to put right and what can wait.’

‘You make it all sound so easy; I don’t know what I was getting stressed out about.’ Iggy couldn’t help the hint of sarcasm in her tone. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room, making her feel awful. They were all only trying to help, and she herself had approached Tristan in the first place.

‘Come now, I’m sure no one is underestimating how much you’ve taken on with this, darling girl.’ The gentle reproach from her uncle sent heat rushing to her cheeks.

‘Sorry, I’m being a brat.’

‘No, you’re not.’ Arthur reached over to pat her knee.

‘Yes, you are,’ Tristan insisted. ‘But we love you anyway.’ He settled himself more comfortably, back resting against one of the two leather Chesterfield sofas which dominated the centre of the room. ‘Why don’t you tell us where you’ve got to so far, and then we can decide on the rest.’

Lucie curled her legs beneath her on the opposite sofa. ‘I’ve got my notebook so I’ll just listen in and make some lists.’

Iggy closed her eyes for a moment and thought about where to start. ‘Okay. We all agreed the walk we set out for the Easter egg hunt worked really well.’

The others nodded.

‘It’ll be a nice family walk whatever the season,’ Lancelot said.

‘Exactly. And there are a couple of points where we can spiral off from that straight-forward loop-down towards the lake, for example, and another one which we could link up to the existing path that runs along the boundary wall parallel with Tumbledown farm.’ She scrabbled amongst her papers and drawings until she found the large photocopy she’d had made of one of the more recent plans which showed the castle and its surrounding lands. ‘Look, I’ll show you.’

She traced an approximate loop of the route through the woods that led walkers to the replica stone circle their ancestor Thomas had created in a large glade, and back towards the castle. ‘That’s route one.’ Swapping her pen for a different colour, she drew a line leading away from the loop towards the lake and back towards a point at the edge of the Lady’s garden. ‘This could be the second one.’ With a third pen she traced a meandering path around the formal gardens which connected to the lake walk, passed up to the castle and back down again. ‘This would be an easy stroll for anyone who didn’t fancy tromping through the woods, or if they want a more strenuous walk they can then pick up this one-’ she tapped the end of the pen to the second route ‘-and head down to the lake.’

Arthur angled the paper towards him. ‘I see what you’re doing. If we try and interconnect as many of them as possible, visitors can explore as much or as little of the grounds as they want to.’

A warm glow started in her belly. He really did get it. She tugged the sheet back and drew a bold line running from the far end of the formal gardens loop and out towards the dales. ‘For the hikers.’

Lancelot leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. ‘If I can make a suggestion?’ When she nodded, he continued. ‘Rather than having them tramp all over the place, we could easily mow in a path along the edge of the gallops, encourage them to cross the park land that way.’

‘That makes sense.’ She amended the proposed route. ‘Although we’re bound to get a few people who stray.’

‘Of course, but I think if you give them the option of a path to follow, most people will use it. Most British people, anyway. We love a bit of order, form a queue and all that.’

Iggy laughed. ‘Good point. People don’t have to stick to the routes, but if we mark them clearly, it should be quite straightforward. And perhaps we should consider whether we want to offer them maps.’ She looked to Arthur for guidance.