Across the Sands of Time Read Online Free

bits.’
    â€˜That’s no surprise. Thea’s great with kids, sort of firm but fair.’
    â€˜I’ve never fancied having kids myself. What about you?’
    Bryony considered, pouring the last of her sparkling water into the glass.
    â€˜I guess if you’re happily married and settled with someone, then children are the next step.’
    She looked up at Liz.
    â€˜Yeah, I would, actually. Just like my mum, always tearing round after us, picking us up from swimming or tennis, dropping us off at youth club. She took everything in her stride and still managed to help Dad on the farm.’
    Liz looked at her friend as if she had taken leave of her senses.
    â€˜Sounds like hard work to me! Anyway, I thought you wanted to come with me, back-packing in Australia.’
    â€˜I do!’ Bryony grinned, bright and bubbly. ‘Get a grip, Liz. I don’t mean I’m having kids tomorrow. Got to find a man first.’
    Her smile faded as Geoff Sanders’s face rose in her mind. Trust Thea to have all the luck. If it was her, she’d have Geoff to the altar double quick, before anything happened to change his mind.
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    Thea glanced around the church hall – a spacious, convenient, if chilly, venue, where the Parkgate local history group were assembling with much chatter and a some laughter. On the long central
table was a large cardboard box of documents, out of which members were taking random piles before splitting into groups. Spotting Dominic enter the room, Thea went to greet him.
    â€˜Hi. You made it, then?’
    â€˜Just about. I swear evening surgery makes a point of being extra crowded when you particularly want to get away!’ He laughed his words off. ‘Well, Thea. No other half tonight?’
    â€˜Not so far, though there’s time yet.’ Thea paused. She had been in two minds whether to come herself. A headache had niggled all day, and she had felt generally out sorts.
    Maybe she was coming down with the bug that was raging through the school, she thought. But it was a lovely evening and anyway, as a member of the committee she felt obliged to attend.
    â€˜Chances are Geoff has been held up,’ she went on. ‘There’s always something needs doing on a farm, as you know.’
    Dominic gave a nod.
    â€˜That’s livestock for you! In fact, I was at the Sanders’s place this morning. They had a cow in trouble calving.’
    â€˜I bet it was a bull calf – they always cause the most trouble.’
    â€˜A heifer, so she was, and Mike Sanders couldn’t keep the grin from his face. The mother’s been a big prize winner and he thought the calf looked as promising. They really know their cattle at Roseacre. Their Friesians are the best I’ve ever seen.’
    â€˜Yes, they win loads with them. Is it a popular breed in Ireland?’ Thea asked, curious.
    â€˜So-so.’ A shuttered look crossed the good-looking face, so fleeting that Thea thought she may have been mistaken. Then the smile was back.
    â€˜So what’s on the agenda tonight?’
    â€˜Well, one of the members went to a furniture and bric-a-brac auction and came out with that box of tricks you see on the table,’ Thea explained. ‘It’s full of old documents – maps, deeds to local properties, fishing rights … that sort of thing. It’ll take weeks to sort through it all. I expect there’s a good deal of rubbish amongst it, though there’s always the chance you might come across something really interesting.

    â€˜Anyway, we thought the best thing was to sort it roughly into categories and then go from there. I’m doing house deeds and shops.’ She held up a fat bundle of yellowing papers. ‘Think I’ve landed myself in it. The legal wording takes some swallowing. It’s all herewith, hereto and what have you!’
    â€˜Want some help?’
    â€˜You’re on,’ Thea said, handing him a