Sweet Basil: A Love Story

Audrey Marie Layne spent her summers in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky. There she met the Englishman, Andrew Townshend Grainger. She appraised him as not being “… handsome or really unhandsome, for that matter.” Audrey was intrigued by the man, but he was a grown-up and that put him in another world as far as she was concerned. However, after a horseback riding accident that damaged the Englishman’s garden, their steel hearts bonded. He taught her to dance, and to make informed decisions on everything from art and music to politics. What did this little girl teach him? She didn’t teach him anything that he didn’t already know, but she gave him her trust and offered him her unconditional love. He rejected the latter gift. Then the battle began. A battle that didn’t end until 36 years later—when she cried.