She had just tucked Sophie in bed when the first new patient arrived, shortly followed by the orphaned baby, squealing with fear and hunger. Victoria thanked the woman profusely for rescuing the tiny creature, her heart contracting with pity for the poor little thing. However many times she dealt with the tiny creatures, she never grew immune to their plight.
By the time she'd settled it in and treated and fed a third new arrival, the time was past ten. She still had twenty short films to grade for the media class she taught at the local art college.
After once more drip-feeding the baby hedgehogs, she stumbled into bed at nearly two in the morning, her eyes gritty with exhaustion.
If she lost Larchfield, she didn't know how she'd find time to traipse all over the place, checking on the animals she released. She hoped Adam Cantrell was the nice guy he seemed, and he would let her keep using his garden.
***
After a pleasant meal at the local village pub where Adam had booked to stay, he sat at the desk in the twin bedded room. He opened his laptop, connected to the Internet, and typed the word "hedgehogs" into a search engine.
While Harry slept peacefully a few feet away, Adam rested his head in his hands and fretted as he read a selection of articles about hedgehogs on wildlife conservation websites. Then he checked the government legislation covering the animals.
He made notes on a pad beside his laptop, the tension in his shoulders growing steadily more painful as he absorbed the details of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It seemed hedgehogs weren't specifically protected like bats were. He'd run up against bats before and they were a developer's nightmare.
If one found bats on a property for renovation in the UK, then work had to stop. They had more rights than people! He'd feared hedgehogs might enjoy similar protection, but from what he'd read it sounded as though the hedgehogs' habitat was not protected. The law just protected the animals from being captured or harmed.
He ran his hands back through his hair on a sigh of relief. In theory, he could simply ignore them, clear the site, and build the houses. But as he read on, he knew he couldn't do so. The population of hedgehogs had decreased dramatically over the last twenty-five years due to habitat destruction. They might soon be extinct. He could not in good conscience bulldoze the homes of ninety hedgehogs.
He glanced over his shoulder at his son's peaceful face as he slept. He didn't want to leave Harry's generation with a world denuded of wildlife just so he could pocket a bit of extra cash. But this did pose a huge problem.
His reputation for quality and reliability was such that he always sold his developments off plan before they were built. Most of the houses to be erected at Larchfield had already been pre-sold. He couldn't abandon the development without seriously denting his professional reputation—and having to pay back deposits and default fees.
The only feasible option was to move the hedgehogs. As Victoria had released them in the first place, he couldn't see a problem with catching them and re-releasing them elsewhere. But he had a feeling she was not going to be happy with him.
Chapter Three
Victoria knocked on the solid wooden front door of Larchfield Hall with a hefty dose of trepidation. She tried to project positive vibes to persuade Adam Cantrell to agree to her releasing hedgehogs on his land. It wasn't likely to inconvenience him much, apart from her being in his garden regularly. She supposed some people might not like that.
The door creaked open, and Harry greeted them. "Come in. Dad's just making the coffee."
Their footsteps echoed hollowly in the almost empty entrance hall. Victoria's heart faltered as she looked around. Larchfield Hall lived on in her childhood memories as an awe-inspiring house full of treasures and beauty. She'd loved visiting with her grandmother.
Now discolored rectangles on the wallpaper marked the places where paintings used to hang, and bare wires dangled instead of the Victorian glass lampshades. But hints of the property's classy pedigree still remained. The grand staircase rose majestically up to the next floor and the wood paneling and decorative plasterwork retained its faded grandeur.
Most of the furniture had been disposed of by the executors of Lady Welland's estate before the house was sold, but the odd piece remained here and there. An old-fashioned telephone rested on a table against the wall, and an overstuffed chair where Lady Welland's old Labrador used to sleep sat just inside the sitting room door.
She hoped Adam realized the enormous task he'd taken on. A lot of money would be required to bring the property up-to-date and make it comfortable. It would be nice to see the place lived in and brought back from the dead, though.
As Victoria and Sophie followed Harry along the corridor towards the back of the house, Adam appeared at the kitchen door. "Good morning." He smiled, but he looked pale. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes were more pronounced today as if he hadn't slept well.
Maybe he was realizing the enormity of the project. "The hall's rather old-fashioned. Did you manage okay last night?" she said.
"We didn't stay here. I booked a room at the Plume of Feathers in the village. There's no Internet at Larchfield yet, and I needed to do some work."
Victoria laughed at his warped priorities. "So you don't care about beds and running water as long as your phone and laptop work?"
He acknowledged her joke with a little quirk of his lips. "Upstairs, there's a massive old four-poster, but I wouldn't want to use it. I think the mattress is stuffed with horsehair."
"It wouldn't surprise me. Lady Welland did rather live in the past. I think she yearned for a bygone era."
"Like a lot of old people, I suppose." Adam tapped the door frame. "They knew how to build houses back then, though. I plan to keep as many of the original features as possible."
The smell of coffee wafted enticingly through the kitchen door and Adam extended a hand, ushering her inside. The scrubbed wooden table and chairs that Victoria remembered still stood on the faded linoleum in the middle of the large kitchen. Cupboards warped with age and rusty iron kitchen implements sat around the room, many that had probably been installed when the house was built.
In complete contrast, a new coffeemaker stood on the kitchen table with two white mugs and a carton of milk.
"This is rather like camping inside," Adam quipped as he poured their coffee and offered the children cans of soda.
"You could always do that, camp here," Victoria said. "About five miles away there's a huge outdoors equipment superstore. I'm sure they sell sleeping bags and camp beds."
"Can we, Dad?" Harry chipped in.
"I guess we could think about it."
They all sat around the table and Harry started showing Sophie how his camera worked.
Adam looked completely different today, and Victoria liked the change. Faded denim jeans and a navy T-shirt showcased a trim, muscular body. His forearms were lean, corded with muscle, and dusted with dark hair. He might be a townie, but he obviously kept fit. His dark brown gaze met hers, and a tingle of awareness raced through her.
His hands were bare of rings but that didn't mean he wasn't attached. Even as she reminded herself she didn't have time for a man, she admitted she was definitely interested in the delicious Mr. Cantrell.
"Is your wife going to be joining you?" Victoria tried to sound casual.
"I'm not married."
"So it's just you and Harry?"
Adam's lips twitched and he nodded, obviously aware she was fishing for information about him.
Her cheeks flushed with heat and she quickly changed the subject. "I guess you'll make quite a lot of improvements to the hall before you move in properly?"
His smile faded, his expression becoming guarded. "There'll be major work done here. I'm having Larchfield converted into four luxury apartments. But I won't be living here."
"You're not staying?" She couldn't hide the note of disappointment in her voice.
"Nope." Adam shook his head.
The significance of this hit her. The gardens would be communally owned. Once Adam sold the flats, he'd have no say in what was done here. No wonder he'd been cagey when she asked him if she could keep releasing hedgehogs in the garden.
"That's not all I plan to do, I'm afraid." Adam glanced down and wrapped his hands around his mug. "The development will include ten new properties on the land."
Shock jolted Victoria. "You're turning the garden into a housing estate?"
"Not a housing estate. These are individual architect-designed properties that will each have an acre of ground."
Victoria pressed a hand over her mouth as the full implications hit her. She had far more to worry about than where she would release new hedgehogs. What on earth would she do with the ones that already lived on Larchfield land?
***
Adam watched the news hit Victoria and the color drain from her face. He enjoyed chatting with her. He would like to get to know her better, but she wouldn't be feeling too friendly towards him now.
He wished he didn't have to drop this problem on her out of the blue, but it was best to get the issue out in the open and work on finding a solution. "I'm sorry. I had no idea about your arrangement with Lady Welland. Hedgehogs were never mentioned when I bought the property."
Victoria sucked in a breath and her eyes widened. "You can't start building houses yet. I'll have to find safe sites to relocate the animals you have here, first. That could take weeks."
"Don't worry. I'll do whatever I can to help. I'm willing to postpone the start date for a while until we move your hedgehogs."
"Move the hedgehogs?" Harry's voice squeaked in his rush to get out the words. "You can't do that, Dad."
Harry and Sophie both stared at him as though he'd just kicked a puppy. Adam threw up his hands in frustration. "You kids don't understand. I have no choice. People have put down deposits. The houses have to be built."
"Build them somewhere else," Sophie said, frowning. "There're heaps of fields around here with nothing in them. Use one of those for your houses."
Adam tried to keep his tone gentle. "Sophie, I don't own the fields. I own Larchfield. Had I known about the hedgehog issue, I wouldn't have bought the place. But I wasn't told. I have planning permission to build here. So here's where the houses are going, I'm afraid."
The children continued to glare at him. He was wasting his breath trying to explain the legalities to them. But Victoria must understand. She blinked at him, looking shell-shocked. He opened his mouth to apologize again as her mobile phone rang.
She snatched the device from her pocket and put it to her ear. "Hello." Her glazed eyes immediately sharpened and she stared down at her hand spread on the table. "Is it injured? Uh-huh. Badly? Okay. There's not too much blood though?" She nodded to herself. "Find a shoe box. Then fill a hot water bottle, wrap it in a towel, and lay the hedgehog on it in the shoe box so it's warm and snug. I'll be over as soon as I can."
Victoria pushed her phone back in her pocket and stood. "Sorry, Adam. We'll have to talk again later. I have an emergency, a baby that's been mauled by a dog. Come on, Soph."
She headed for the door, her daughter running to catch up with her.
Adam jumped up and followed, Harry on his heels. "How far are you going?"
"A couple of miles away. I need to run home to get my car."
"I'll drive you." He couldn't let her walk out with nothing resolved.
"You?" Victoria pulled up sharply and turned to stare at him as though he was the last person on earth she expected help from. "Are you sure?"
"If it'll save you time."
"It will."
"Okay. Let's go." Adam grabbed his jacket from a chair in the hall and dug in the pocket for his keys, then led them all out the front door. He didn't have time to lock the back door of the property, but it hardly mattered. There was nothing inside worth stealing anyway.
Sophie and Harry climbed in the back of his car and Victoria took the front passenger seat. Adam slalomed down the drive to avoid the potholes while his passengers hung on for dear life.
"Turn right out of the gate," Victoria said. "Then left in about half a mile. We're heading to the next village, Little Monkton."
Ten minutes later they entered a small village, little more than a row of old cottages beside a village green. "What number are we looking for?" Adam asked.
"Not a number, it's called Weavers Green."
In the end they didn't need to search. A woman ran to the front gate of a small thatched cottage and waved her arms as they approached. Adam pulled up, and Victoria scrambled out.
"Oh, I'm so pleased you're here," the woman said. "The poor little thing is making a terrible noise."
"You two stay in the car," Adam said to the kids and followed Victoria. A strange sense of urgency filled him as if he were on a mission of life or death that really mattered. Victoria's concern for the creature was contagious.
The woman showed them inside, all the time babbling about how terrible she felt and how her dog had never done anything like this before. They hurried through the front door and along a hallway to the kitchen. A strange snuffling, grunting sound came from a shoe box on the counter.