by Abigail Agar
“Well, if she is delighted, would she be delighted to come with me right now?” Theodore asked, shifting his gaze from her father to Rosamund directly.
“Of course I would!” she exclaimed.
It was all settled. She was going to have a wonderful opportunity, getting to wander such beautiful, flourishing gardens.
Theodore had mentioned the duke’s infamous gardens in the past, telling her that she would love them. But she had never anticipated an opportunity to actually go and see them. It was wonderful that she was going to get a chance to walk among his legendary memorial garden.
They spent some time arranging the situation and when she would be able to go with Theodore to the estate.
“I can hardly wait!” Rosamund exclaimed, once they had decided on how long she would be there that afternoon.
Just then, the door opened again. They all held their breath as they turned, again eager to see if they had a new customer.
But this time, as well, it was just another visitor.
Juliet was Rosamund’s dearest friend. She was a young woman who clearly wished for the same skills that Rosamund had.
“Juliet! Well, it looks like I am being visited by two of my favourite people today,” she said.
Juliet smiled and looked at Theodore and then back to Rosamund, as if perhaps this gentleman was a secret admirer that Rosamund had never told her about.
“Oh, forgive me. This is my cousin, Mr. Theodore Connelly. Theo, this is my dearest friend, Miss Juliet Grimes,” she said.
“It is an honour to meet you Miss Grimes,” Theodore said, his eyes taking in the blushing Juliet.
“And you, Mr. Connelly,” Juliet replied, keeping her eyes low and a quiet smile on her lips.
As Juliet and Theodore introduced themselves to one another, Rosamund could see that there was a spark between the two of them. She had never expected this. But she ought to have done.
In fact, why has she not thought before about arranging a meeting between her cousin and her friend? Yes, Theodore was a little bit older, but there was nothing wrong with that. They would actually be quite a sweet couple.
“Anyway,” her father said, suddenly, clearing his throat. It was startling enough to break Juliet and Theodore from their moment and it very nearly made Rosamund jump. But her father was always shy around romance and she found it amusing that he would try to break that moment.
“Yes, we must be on our way,” Rosamund said.
“On your way?” Juliet asked.
“Indeed; I am very sorry we shall not spend time together today. I am going to pay a visit to the gardens of the Duke of Somerfield,” Rosamund said.
Juliet was downcast, but understanding.
“In that event, I shall speak with you later,” she said.
Theodore led Rosamund to the coach. They climbed in and started on their journey.
Rosamund was excited. Any opportunity she had to get out of the shop and away from the house was a good one. But knowing that she was going to be in a grand garden was like a dream.
She was always eager for opportunities to enjoy florals of nobility. The wealthy always had such grand gardens. And now, she would get to be among them.
“Are you ready?” Theodore asked.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? You know that I love beautiful flowers and this is a great opportunity to use my skills. Father will be overjoyed because I know that your employer will be able to keep us flush for a month if we assist him in this,” she said.
“Very true. But you have never done work at a place like this, have you?” Theodore asked.
“I did save the tulips of the Baron of Morran,” she said.
“Ha! The Baron of Morran? That is not a garden, that is a bouquet,” Theodore said, eliciting a laugh from Rosamund.
“Yes, you are right. But my point is that I have worked for the wealthy before,” she said.
“I have a feeling you do not rightly know what you are in for. Will you do me a favour?” Theodore asked.
“Certainly,” she replied.
“Open the curtain and tell me what you see,” he instructed, gesturing to the window in the coach.
Rosamund looked out of the window. What she saw was astonishing.
The estate was enormous. It was larger than she had ever dreamt of. In fact, she had never even heard of places like this. Was it a palace? She could imagine a palace this size.
“I…” she trailed off, looking back at Theodore and then immediately turning her head back to look through the window again.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I think I had no idea what you really meant all this time,” she said.
Theodore laughed and she got the idea that he understood her confusion and amazement. But how could he not? No matter how long he had lived at this place, how could anyone get used to it?
If the gardens were anything like the rest of the estate, Rosamund was going to be very happy indeed.
Chapter 3
Albion had given his employees strict instructions. They were to leave the young woman alone.
Miss Fleet would be coming soon. And only Theodore would be the one to assist her. He would be the one to offer her tea and anything that may be necessary. But everyone else was meant to leave her alone.
He felt that it was the best way to protect himself against having someone new in the house. This way, his employees would not grow attached.
It was a little bit silly, being so picky about these things and so petrified of having new company. But it was difficult to open up his heart to any new people when he had lost so much already.
After Albion ensured that everything was ready for Miss Fleet, setting out whatever tools he thought she may need, he went back inside and began pacing his study. He could not understand why he was so nervous, but something about all of this left him greatly overwhelmed. He really wanted all of it to work.
He needed it to.
The idea of losing the garden, of having this disease spread, was too much. Already, the roses were growing worse and worse. What if he came out the next day to find that everything was covered?
Again, Albion was reminded of the irrationality of his concerns. No, these flowers were not his family, so why did he treat them as though they were? Why did he care so much for them that he felt he would be losing his family all over again if something happened to the blossoms?
It was nonsense, but it was overwhelming nonsense.
Finally, Albion heard the sound of the coach approaching the estate. He looked out of the window, wanting to catch a glimpse of the woman Theodore had mentioned, his distant relation. For some reason, Albion simply pictured Theodore with long hair.
He knew nothing about Miss Fleet, but thought she must be a very wise older woman. Was she a spinster? Or was she as young as Theodore was, just a year or two younger than Albion himself?
He certainly pictured her as a spinster.
But when the door of the coach opened and the coachman assisted the young lady to the ground below, he was astonished. Through the glass, he could see that she appeared quite youthful. Perhaps twenty?
She had lovely, dark brown curls that were pinned neatly so that they were back from her face, but cascaded down the back of her dress, which showed that she was not of a high station by any means. Regardless, he was astonished that she was so lovely. He wanted to get a clearer view of her.
Theodore led Miss Fleet around the estate and Albion rushed to the other side, to the windows which looked out over the back of the property, where the gardens were below. He opened a few of the windows, both for the sake of fresh air and for a better view.
When Theodore and Miss Fleet rounded the corner and came into the gardens, Albion heard her gasp.
“You said that it was beautiful, but I never imagined this,” she told Theodore. At least, that was what it sounded like to Albion, although her voice was a short distance away.
“I know. It is difficult to d
escribe. Until you see it with your own eyes, you cannot imagine it,” Theodore replied.
Albion squinted to get a better look at her. He wished that he could see the colour of her eyes, but from there, he could not. As he watched Theodore give Miss Fleet a tour of the gardens, he felt a little bit odd. Was it strange for him to observe without them knowing about it? Was he being…inappropriate?
But Albion told himself there was nothing wrong with it. After all, he was hiring this young woman. He had a right to know exactly who she was and what she was going to do. He had lost his previous gardener for not paying closer attention and he would not allow that to happen again.
“And here are the roses that are sick,” Theodore said, showing her where the problem lay.
“Oh, dear. Yes, I have seen this before. Many times, actually. It is common, but we must put an end to it at once or all of the rose bushes will die,” she said.
“So it will only affect the roses?” Theodore asked.
Albion inclined his ear further, trying to hear the response from that mouth which was the colour of a rose itself.
“No, not at all. Once things like this come, they spread. I can assure you that if this is not dealt with, there will be far more problems in the garden. And I also noticed that there are aphids in the chamomile. That is an entirely separate issue,” she said.
Albion was taken aback. He hadn’t noticed that. So there was more than simply the black spot on the roses? How had his garden fallen to pieces like this? What was he going to do now? Oh, if only he had not trusted that infernal Mr. Hillsborough!
“Oh, dear. And how can that be solved?” Theodore asked her.
“There are many options. One of them—which I believe the duke will approve of—is to grow marigolds nearby,” she said.
“Marigolds?” Theodore asked.
Albion’s eyes lit up. Marigolds were lovely. He would be more than happy to have them growing in his garden. He was not certain where she would find space, but he trusted that Miss Fleet would make room for them beside the chamomile in order to get rid of the pests.
Indeed, this young woman, with all of her beauty, was a genius if it meant that she could solve some of these problems by making his gardens even lovelier.
“Yes, they help to keep away the pests. Now, shall I get to work on the roses? They are the most pressing, correct?” she asked.
“Yes, of course. I shall leave you to it,” Theodore said.
“Very well. Thank you for these tools,” she said.
“Oh, I assume the duke left them out for you,” Theodore said, turning towards the estate.
Albion dropped out of the window just in time, hoping they did not see him spying on them the way he was. He felt another wave of anxiety, thinking himself such a fool for behaving like this.
But a few moments later, he heard Theodore’s footsteps carrying him away and he decided to peek out again.
There she was, Miss Fleet, with the shears, trimming off the dead heads of what used to be a stunning rosebush.
Albion turned away, deciding he couldn’t continue watching her that way. It was too strange to stare at her while she did her work and he could not understand why he was so intrigued by her anyway.
There was a knock at the door of the study and he rushed to the sitting chair so that his voice would not alert Miss Fleet to his presence at the window.
“Come in,” he called.
The maid entered the room with his tea.
“Would you like anything else, Your Grace?” she asked.
“No, no,” he said. “Nothing at all. Only a bit of time to myself.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I shall be off. Please let me know if there is anything else I may get for you,” she said.
“Yes, thank you,” Albion replied.
She departed and he remained in the chair for a while. Grabbing a book to distract himself, Albion tried to relax. He was used to spending his sunny days nearly exclusively in the gardens, so it was strange to be inside. But the last thing he wanted was to spend time around this woman and allow his interest in her to grow even more.
If he was going to remain in his typical state of isolation, Albion knew that he had but one choice and that choice was to avoid beautiful women. He would never again have to hurt from the possibility of losing someone if he simply stayed away from those who might be lost.
Later, Theodore came to inform him that dinner was ready. Albion looked up from his book and nodded.
“Thank you, Theodore. I shall be right there,” he said.
“Very well. And, I must tell you, Miss Fleet is astonished by the beauty of the estate and the gardens. She finds it quite lovely and has bid me inform you that she admires it very much,” Theodore said.
“Is that so?” he asked, trying to ignore the pride that welled up inside of him.
“Yes, it is. And she is more than happy to have the opportunity to work here and to enjoy all that your gardens have to offer. She had found a few problems which she intends to rectify,” Theodore said.
“Very well, I am glad to hear it,” Albion said, trying not to show the extent of his intrigue.
“You need not worry about anything when Rosamund is in your garden. I assure you that everything will be remedied at once. You shall see,” Theodore said, turning as if to leave.
“It is a lovely name for a gardener,” Albion said, unable to help himself. Theodore turned back to him.
“Indeed, it is. And she is the best you can imagine for the task. She really does know exactly what she is doing,” he said.
“How did she come by this knowledge?” Albion asked.
“Her father owns a florist shop. She grew up around plants of all kinds, but it astonished everyone to see how well she managed to handle a variety of blooms and blossoms. Honestly, I do not think anyone had ever seen such a young girl take to it with such ease,” Theodore said.
“She was good at growing?” Albion asked, still unclear as to what exactly she had managed to accomplish so well.
“At the age of eight, she rescued the flower garden of a baron and within a year of that, her neighbour—who lived almost entirely off the vegetables he grew in his backyard—was facing the loss of many of his crops. But she quickly remedied whatever the problem was and within three months, he was selling the excess because he had too much,” Theodore said.
Albion raised his brows at this. So Miss Fleet truly was gifted…
“There are those who claim she must use some sort of magic to help the flowers and vegetables and herbs grow, but she laughs it off every time the rumour is spread. I can assure you that Rosamund gives no credence to such things,” Theodore said.
“Well, I suppose I am fortunate that she has been willing to come here and to look over my garden. If she is so high in demand as this—and if she has been so miraculous in the past—I must recognise that I am incredibly fortunate to have her assistance,” he said.
“Indeed, you are. But she is more than happy to be here and to help. Anyway, I have told her to come and go as she is able, without interrupting the household. I thought you would prefer it that way,” Theodore said.