61 pages 2 hours read

Julia Kelly

The Last Garden in England

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Part 2

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: “Spring”

Part 2, Chapter 13 Summary: “Emma”

The job for which Emma has applied, half-heartedly seeking some stability, has been victim to a hiring freeze. She will not be working at the Royal Botanical Heritage Society as Head of Conservation. The financial outlook for her company, Turning Back Thyme, is not positive, either. Emma heads over to Highbury House, knowing that talking and working will lift her mood. Sydney invites her inside for tea and cake, as they discuss the progress of the gardens. Sydney has found some old photographs that show how the garden appeared in the 1920s.

After perusing the photographs, Emma asks Sydney why she is so invested in the restoration project; Sydney remembers spending periods of her childhood at the house and in the gardens. It was a magical time for her. When Sydney asks if Emma has heard from Henry about the sketches yet, Emma says she has not—though she has been listening to old Motown records, for some reason. Sydney asks again for Emma to join them at the pub. Emma begins to think she might just do that, after all.