Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Potting Shed Mystery (Potting Shed Mystery series Book 3) Read Online Free
Author: Marty Wingate
was last summer. Ray told me that Marcus and Celia were eating at Tegmeyer’s Steak House when Krystal showed up to announce that she and Marcus were together now and if he didn’t have the nerve to say it, she would. Apparently, Celia made quite a scene.”
“Mmm,” Pru said. “At least I just left town.”
—
Christopher had one hand on the knob of the flat’s front door and one resting lightly at the base of Pru’s neck. They both took a last look across the cozy sitting room to the windows that looked out to sea. “I’m sorry to leave here,” he said.
She nodded. “It was my favorite of all the places we’ve been.”
He closed the door and they walked down the two flights of stairs, carrying the last few sacks and bags. As they loaded them into the boot of his car, Pru said, “But you’ll be happy to get back to work.”
“I’m happy about parts of it,” he said.
“I know Edinburgh will be lovely, but it is far away.” Apprehension about the new post and her lack of knowledge about the subject had siphoned off some of her enthusiasm.
“You’ll be busy—with the work and the wedding.”
At the mention of marriage, that warm honey began its ooze. “Yes.” She smiled. “Three months sorting out Mr. Menzies’s papers, Jo helping with plans, and then we’ll be married. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Chapter 3
Zero to sixty in five seconds—that’s what her life felt like. Plans, lists, study, reading, and writing filled every imaginable moment of her time in London. Pru became a student again, diving into preliminary research at the British Library and visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, arranging for copies from their archives to be sent to Edinburgh. Everywhere, she made copious notes on Archibald Menzies, who had become the second-most important man in her life.
Christopher understood. His days stretched ten and twelve hours long as he plunged into police work. One evening, he’d arrived back at his flat to find Pru dozing on the leather sofa, a half-finished glass of wine on the table nearby and one of his Horatio Hornblower books open on her chest.
“It’s giving me another glimpse into the times,” she said, sitting up after he had kissed her awake. “
The Happy Return
takes place not long after Mr. Menzies was on the
Discovery
. I can’t understand why the surgeon on Hornblower’s ship wasn’t also a botanist. It seems like it was a common practice—they had to be both doctor and apothecary—and he could’ve brought back plants from his travels around South America.”
“A glaring omission,” Christopher said, after he removed his jacket, sat with his own glass, and pulled her close. He’d been such a good sport about listening to details of eighteenth-century plant collecting. She had been about to explain the great failures many collectors had in transporting their treasures back without benefit of a Wardian case, which was a contraption much like a terrarium. It hadn’t been invented until long after Menzies was off the high seas. Pru’s head swam with such bits of history, and in hopes of getting it all straight so she could speak coherently about the subject when she got to Edinburgh, she tended to sift through what she’d studied and retell it all to Christopher. Getting ready for this job felt more than a little like studying for her orals at Texas A&M.
“Jo and I are having lunch tomorrow,” she said, shutting the door on Mr. Menzies for the evening. “She has some ideas for the wedding, something she didn’t want to tell me on the phone. She sounds excited.”
Being married—Pru was growing quite accustomed to the idea of committing to sharing her life with Christopher. Just the mention of spending their lives together sent her away on clouds of happy thoughts. Thoughts of planning a wedding, on the other hand, caused her stomach to tighten. The only special events she’d planned, apart from her mother’s funeral and the open garden at
“Mmm,” Pru said. “At least I just left town.”
—
Christopher had one hand on the knob of the flat’s front door and one resting lightly at the base of Pru’s neck. They both took a last look across the cozy sitting room to the windows that looked out to sea. “I’m sorry to leave here,” he said.
She nodded. “It was my favorite of all the places we’ve been.”
He closed the door and they walked down the two flights of stairs, carrying the last few sacks and bags. As they loaded them into the boot of his car, Pru said, “But you’ll be happy to get back to work.”
“I’m happy about parts of it,” he said.
“I know Edinburgh will be lovely, but it is far away.” Apprehension about the new post and her lack of knowledge about the subject had siphoned off some of her enthusiasm.
“You’ll be busy—with the work and the wedding.”
At the mention of marriage, that warm honey began its ooze. “Yes.” She smiled. “Three months sorting out Mr. Menzies’s papers, Jo helping with plans, and then we’ll be married. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Chapter 3
Zero to sixty in five seconds—that’s what her life felt like. Plans, lists, study, reading, and writing filled every imaginable moment of her time in London. Pru became a student again, diving into preliminary research at the British Library and visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, arranging for copies from their archives to be sent to Edinburgh. Everywhere, she made copious notes on Archibald Menzies, who had become the second-most important man in her life.
Christopher understood. His days stretched ten and twelve hours long as he plunged into police work. One evening, he’d arrived back at his flat to find Pru dozing on the leather sofa, a half-finished glass of wine on the table nearby and one of his Horatio Hornblower books open on her chest.
“It’s giving me another glimpse into the times,” she said, sitting up after he had kissed her awake. “
The Happy Return
takes place not long after Mr. Menzies was on the
Discovery
. I can’t understand why the surgeon on Hornblower’s ship wasn’t also a botanist. It seems like it was a common practice—they had to be both doctor and apothecary—and he could’ve brought back plants from his travels around South America.”
“A glaring omission,” Christopher said, after he removed his jacket, sat with his own glass, and pulled her close. He’d been such a good sport about listening to details of eighteenth-century plant collecting. She had been about to explain the great failures many collectors had in transporting their treasures back without benefit of a Wardian case, which was a contraption much like a terrarium. It hadn’t been invented until long after Menzies was off the high seas. Pru’s head swam with such bits of history, and in hopes of getting it all straight so she could speak coherently about the subject when she got to Edinburgh, she tended to sift through what she’d studied and retell it all to Christopher. Getting ready for this job felt more than a little like studying for her orals at Texas A&M.
“Jo and I are having lunch tomorrow,” she said, shutting the door on Mr. Menzies for the evening. “She has some ideas for the wedding, something she didn’t want to tell me on the phone. She sounds excited.”
Being married—Pru was growing quite accustomed to the idea of committing to sharing her life with Christopher. Just the mention of spending their lives together sent her away on clouds of happy thoughts. Thoughts of planning a wedding, on the other hand, caused her stomach to tighten. The only special events she’d planned, apart from her mother’s funeral and the open garden at
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