‘I know the books,’ Max offered. ‘Loved them as a boy.’
Isabel shook her head, not being familiar with the stories.
‘Well,’ Lola said with a dramatic flourish, ‘follow me.’
She led them past the shed.
‘I think we had our own Cadfael here, though hopefully not solving murders.’
In an open area was the outline of a bricked herbal garden complete with geometrical design, set around a circular centre that contained a big bay tree. It was a large herb garden and Audrey wondered if, in its day, it would have rivalled the lush and manicured gardens she’d seen on some of her trips to the UK and Europe. Behind the garden was an orchard—six rows, Audrey counted, of fruit trees in various states of health, though most, she saw, had sprouted new growth. Sections in one half of the herb bed had be
