As soon as Mrs Sowerbery was out of sight, Dickon whispered, 'Come on guys, let's go.'
Mary and Colin followed Dickon as he made his way to the front entrance.
'Bye mum!' he hollered as they shut the door behind them. But as soon as the door clicked shut, the three children rushed through the rose garden to the ivy wall. Mary pulled out the key and unlocked the door that was hidden beneath the layers of tumbling ivy. The three children tiptoed inside, afraid of being seen.
The garden was the children's best kept secret. Nobody knew about it apart from the children and Ben Weatherstaff, Misselthwaite's old gardener. When Colin's mother had died eight years ago, she whispered into her five year old son's ear that there was a 'special place' that he would find. Her final words to her only child were 'Find it.' Colin had fallen sick soon after, and nearly forgot about his mother's last wish. But when Mary came last summer, something changed. Colin had hope. He told Mary about the place, and she was determined to find it. When she did, Colin was overjoyed. He could not wait to be well again so that he could see it for himself. Mary had helped him see the good things in life, and he was so grateful for it.
'You know, just being here reminds me of how much we've done.' Mary said, walking in between the flowerbeds and coming to rest in the shade of the oak tree. 'Remember when this was all dead grass, and fallen vines? Now it's a paradise!'
The boys said nothing. They didn't need to. The children were the happiest they could ever be in the garden, and they all knew it.
'Remember when we first showed Martha the garden?' Dickon said, smiling at the memory of Martha's face when she was shown the rose bushes and the flowerbeds.
'How is she?' Mary asked. 'How is America treating her?'
Martha had left to college at the end of last year, and although he tried not to show it, Dickon really missed her. Now he was an only child, with his sister on the other side of the planet, and no other siblings at home.
'She's fine, she's liking the courses she's taking, and she actually got a tan!' Dickon said, laughing. Martha promised her brother when she left that they would call each other every week, and so far, both of them were sticking to it.
