A pair of BOBBYDAZZLERS

Becca hated her great-aunt's gift - what good were they to anyone?

- Steve Cain

Flicking through the pages of her magazine, Becca sighed. She usually lapped up the celebrity gossip, short stories and lifestyle features, but today she was too preoccupied to concentrate.

She put the magazine on the coffee table, next to the local paper. It still lay open on the property page and the grainy image caught her eye again.

Despite the photograph being somewhat blurred, the charm of Bluebell Cottage was evident — the hanging baskets and window boxes, and the carpet of bluebells that filled the border underneath the pretty, leaded windows.

It was the kind of cottage you found on jigsaw puzzles and picture postcards - perfect in every way.

‘You're brooding again,’ Robbie remarked, not unkindly. ‘Shall I put the telly on?’

Becca smiled at her husband. ‘Go on then, but you know I hate daytime TV.’

She sat facing the screen, though not really watching at all. It was one of those programmes in which people brought along junk they'd found in their attic, in the hope of making a fortune. Her mind began to wander back to Bluebell Cottage.

‘Becca, look!’ Robbie was on his feet, peering at the screen. ‘That jug. It's the same as the pair Great-aunt Dorothy gave us!’

‘It does look similar,’ Becca conceded, her interest piqued.