land for anything else. Some allotments are temporary, just there for a few years till the land is needed. These have been here since the year dot, so we can plant trees and shrubs and know it won’t be wasted effort.’
‘I didn’t know about the different sorts of allotments.’
‘Not many people do. People lost interest in gardening for a while, but they’re coming back to it, my goodness they are. Nothing tastes as good as your own vegetables. I’ve had my plot for nearly twenty years, got two fruit trees on it. If you’re still here in the autumn, I’ll give you a bag of apples. They won’t look pretty but they’ll tastebetter than the ones you get in the shops.’
‘That’d be great.’
‘Still, you might as well put your name down for an allotment. That costs nothing and you’ll come to the top of the list one day, if you stay around long enough.’
At that moment a pair of police officers came strolling along the street towards them. Janey tensed as she did every time she saw a policeman now, but these two were fresh-faced, pleasant-looking. She couldn’t imagine them bullying anyone.
They stopped beside her and looked at her companion, which made her feel anxious. Did they not trust Mr Shackleton? Had she put herself and Millie in danger by talking to someone the police kept an eye on?
The female officer smiled at them both in turn, then turned back to the old man. ‘All set for the spring planting, Mr S?’
‘I certainly am. I’ve been studying the seed catalogues and I’m about to send off my orders. Meet Janey and Millie. They’re new to the area.’
‘Settled in Sexton Bassett, have you?’
‘Yes. Me and Millie have moved into a flat on Peppercorn Street.’
‘In that building that’s just been renovated?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’ll be convenient for town, with a baby. She’s a pretty one. Well, must get on. I’ll see you around. Community policing means a lot of walking. I’ve lost pounds since it came in.’
As they walked off, Mr Shackleton said, ‘I knew Katie when she was a little lass coming to the allotments withher grandpop. He’s dead now, poor fellow, didn’t make old bones, and she’s a woman grown. Look … do you trust me enough to stop and have a cup of tea with me? I’m quite harmless, I promise you, even though I am known to the police.’
He laughed at his own mild joke and Janey smiled with him, but was grateful that he understood her wariness.
‘We can sit outside on my bench – it’s on the sunny, sheltered side of the hut – and Phil’s working down the bottom end of the allotments, so you’ll be quite safe.’
Still she hesitated. Stopping for a quick word was one thing, sitting drinking tea was a much bigger step – for her anyway. She wasn’t sure she fully trusted any man after what had happened to her, but surely she’d be quite safe sitting outside on the bench? ‘Thank you. I’d love a cup of tea.’
‘Good.’ He beamed at her and opened the gate, then led the way across to his hut. ‘It won’t take long to boil the kettle on my gas ring. Would the little ’un like a biscuit? Is she old enough for them?’
‘Not quite. I’ve got some rusks. She’s teething and loves to gum them. It’ll keep her busy for ages.’
Millie remained in a sunny mood, charming Mr Shackleton with her smiles, chewing the rusk happily. She only smeared it over the bottom half of her face, which was tidy eating for her, and she managed to get quite a bit of it down. Janey pulled out a sippy cup to give her a drink of water.
Mr Shackleton brought out a folding table on which he placed a teapot and two mugs next to the packet of biscuits. Then he brought out a milk carton and sugar ina plastic container. ‘I’d rather do things properly when I have a guest. My wife always used to have very high standards when she set a table for guests. Only I don’t keep china sugar bowls and milk jugs here. No room to store them, you see.’
‘The tea
‘I didn’t know about the different sorts of allotments.’
‘Not many people do. People lost interest in gardening for a while, but they’re coming back to it, my goodness they are. Nothing tastes as good as your own vegetables. I’ve had my plot for nearly twenty years, got two fruit trees on it. If you’re still here in the autumn, I’ll give you a bag of apples. They won’t look pretty but they’ll tastebetter than the ones you get in the shops.’
‘That’d be great.’
‘Still, you might as well put your name down for an allotment. That costs nothing and you’ll come to the top of the list one day, if you stay around long enough.’
At that moment a pair of police officers came strolling along the street towards them. Janey tensed as she did every time she saw a policeman now, but these two were fresh-faced, pleasant-looking. She couldn’t imagine them bullying anyone.
They stopped beside her and looked at her companion, which made her feel anxious. Did they not trust Mr Shackleton? Had she put herself and Millie in danger by talking to someone the police kept an eye on?
The female officer smiled at them both in turn, then turned back to the old man. ‘All set for the spring planting, Mr S?’
‘I certainly am. I’ve been studying the seed catalogues and I’m about to send off my orders. Meet Janey and Millie. They’re new to the area.’
‘Settled in Sexton Bassett, have you?’
‘Yes. Me and Millie have moved into a flat on Peppercorn Street.’
‘In that building that’s just been renovated?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’ll be convenient for town, with a baby. She’s a pretty one. Well, must get on. I’ll see you around. Community policing means a lot of walking. I’ve lost pounds since it came in.’
As they walked off, Mr Shackleton said, ‘I knew Katie when she was a little lass coming to the allotments withher grandpop. He’s dead now, poor fellow, didn’t make old bones, and she’s a woman grown. Look … do you trust me enough to stop and have a cup of tea with me? I’m quite harmless, I promise you, even though I am known to the police.’
He laughed at his own mild joke and Janey smiled with him, but was grateful that he understood her wariness.
‘We can sit outside on my bench – it’s on the sunny, sheltered side of the hut – and Phil’s working down the bottom end of the allotments, so you’ll be quite safe.’
Still she hesitated. Stopping for a quick word was one thing, sitting drinking tea was a much bigger step – for her anyway. She wasn’t sure she fully trusted any man after what had happened to her, but surely she’d be quite safe sitting outside on the bench? ‘Thank you. I’d love a cup of tea.’
‘Good.’ He beamed at her and opened the gate, then led the way across to his hut. ‘It won’t take long to boil the kettle on my gas ring. Would the little ’un like a biscuit? Is she old enough for them?’
‘Not quite. I’ve got some rusks. She’s teething and loves to gum them. It’ll keep her busy for ages.’
Millie remained in a sunny mood, charming Mr Shackleton with her smiles, chewing the rusk happily. She only smeared it over the bottom half of her face, which was tidy eating for her, and she managed to get quite a bit of it down. Janey pulled out a sippy cup to give her a drink of water.
Mr Shackleton brought out a folding table on which he placed a teapot and two mugs next to the packet of biscuits. Then he brought out a milk carton and sugar ina plastic container. ‘I’d rather do things properly when I have a guest. My wife always used to have very high standards when she set a table for guests. Only I don’t keep china sugar bowls and milk jugs here. No room to store them, you see.’
‘The tea
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