Such damage was done (Con)

[moonsridinghigh.insanejournal.com]

There were no staff left at St John's Lodge; there hadn't been for a long time. Obviously, Con thought this was probably for the best. Mona didn't seem to agree, or was it just that she really opposed the idea of him living here by himself?

Con could understand why Mona thought that way, but that's because empty haunted hallways didn't suit Mona. Australia suited Mona; the long days of bright sun, the warm nights near the ocean, her dogs, even her friendship with Cathal. Life suited Mona.

As the empty haunted hallways of St John's Lodge suited Con.

It wasn't all grim, not all the time. When the weather wasn't utterly bleak, Con spent the days out in the garden tearing up weeds, digging them right out at their roots. He planted a few things too, and they struggled along. He'd never had much interest in the garden before, but he was drawn to it now. He wasn't very good at getting things to grow, and yet as spring turned into summer, patches of flowers started to spring up around the grounds. It was never as nice as their hired gardeners could make it, but it wasn't so bad.

He didn't grow food. Eating things that had grown in the soil of St John's Lodge just seemed like a bad idea.

But flowers; surely there was no harm to be found in flowers.