Rose Gardner's Florist

by Dee, Bonnie

  Rose inhaled the flowers’ strong scent without needing to bend over. “They are exquisite and have a delightful aroma.”

  “Thank you. I’m quite proud of them if I do say so myself. The variety was awarded an Award of Garden Merit designation by the Royal Horticultural Society.”

  “How do you create a hybrid, your ladyship?”

  Once Lady Carmody launched on the subject, Rose did not need to speak again, which made easy work of the slow stroll back to the house. The woman’s enthusiasm reminded Rose of Gram’s delight in flowers and any bit of nature she encountered on the busy city streets. That kinship, slight as it might be, put Rose somewhat at ease. Maybe she could fit into this grand lady’s world and be accepted as part of her son’s life—if their budding friendship came to that.

  She glanced at Will, who had remained mostly quiet during their walk. The sun reflecting on his spectacles hid his eyes, but he smiled sweetly at her and gave a little nod of encouragement. In that one pure and perfect moment, Rose felt a surge of affection and entertained the thought that she might be in love. That was both a grand and horrifying idea.

  “I suppose Cook has our luncheon prepared,” Will interrupted his mother’s discourse on aphid control. “Must be off before the day wanes.”

  Lady Carmody included Rose in a sincere smile that warmed her through. “I do wish you might dine with us, but I understand you must be on your way.”

  After returning to the house and bidding good day to her ladyship, they set off with a basket that weighed down Will’s arm.

  “I hope the meeting was not too uncomfortable for you,” he said when they were some distance from the Hall. “I did not think it through when I suggested coming here, or I might have chosen some other location.”

  Rose did not take his words as regret for introducing her to his mum, but rather a desire to be alone with her. “So long as it wasn’t the swamp in the woods Hattie told me,” she teased, referring to a bog where Hardy had taken Hattie on Will’s recommendation.

  “It was a beautiful pond when I went there as a lad. How was I to know it had become so overgrown?” he protested.

  They laughed together and Rose grasped the handle of the basket to share its weight as they strolled.

  “Today’s site will be much nicer, I promise. There is a lovely stream that cuts across the northern edge of our property. A bit of a hike, but there should be no muck or swarms of insects to ruin our enjoyment.”

  Rose very quickly realized she was not wearing appropriate shoes for walking over rough terrain. Her toes and her ankles ached, but it was worth the discomfort for the sight of a herd of cows with calves in a meadow.

  “Look at the tiny one wobble! He must be a newborn,” she exclaimed. “I must admit I have never seen living cattle before, only beef on a plate. I doubt I shall ever be able to consume meat again after this.”

  He smiled. “When I was a boy, I adopted a chicken that followed me whenever I was outdoors. I knew I could never eat such a faithful pet. But when Cook prepared him with apricot glaze, I devoured every bite. I should introduce you to her. The woman taught me practicality and how to make a loaf of bread from scratch.”

  Rose tried to picture young William sitting on a stool in the kitchen, chatting with the staff. How odd it must have been to mature from such familiarity to the proper distance between master and servant; polite yet removed. And where might an outsider such as herself fit in such a hierarchy?

  Nowhere. It was not a world for the likes of her.

  Her glum thought passed as they reached the stream. Its surface sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight, then flowed into the dim and dappling shade of trees. This was every bit a babbling brook such as those featured in books. Rose had never quite visualized the reality, having only gutters of rainwater to compare it to.

  She dropped to her knees beside the swiftly moving water, scooped up cool water with both hands, and splashed it on her face.

  “Don’t drink,” Will advised. “Cattle drink here and one cannot be too certain what they leave behind. It is all right to wade, however. My brother, sister and I splashed around here as children.”

  Rose sat back on her heels and looked up at him. “Tell me more about your siblings.”

  “Rupert and his wife Virginia live in the Hall with Mother and Father. They have improved the stables and are breeding racing stock. My nephews, Rupert and Peter, may be around somewhere as they are on summer holiday. They will return to school soon. And Penelope is touring Europe with friends. She is a bold spirit. ‘A modern’ she calls herself. You will probably take to her when you meet her.”

  The offhand way he assumed she would return and someday eventually meet his sister startled Rose. This budding romance was advancing far too quickly given all the obstacles to it. Although Lady Carmody had been polite enough, Rose did not truly believe the woman expected her to come to dinner. It was simply a polite invitation. Will’s world could never be hers and it troubled her that he did not seem to realize it.

  But no need to indulge in worry now while the sun shone and the brook babbled.

  She watched the water pass by for several moments longer then went to where Will had spread a cloth and unpacked their luncheon.

  Rose sank to the ground and loosened her shoes. She would like to shed them and plunge her sore feet into soft grass, but it would be inappropriate.

  “Please serve yourself whatever you would like. Cook has packed sufficiently to feed an army; ham sandwiches, cold kidney pie, boiled eggs, pickled beets and her mouth-watering lemon-custard squares.” He poured two glasses of wine.

  Rose didn’t wait to be asked twice as she attacked the bounty. She couldn’t recall ever being so ravenous, not even the winter her entire family had been out of work due to factory closures and ill health. Back then, she had adjusted to meager rations. But now, having a veritable banquet laid out before her roused her appetite like an animal coming out of hibernation.

  Will told about his childhood days playing in the stream with his siblings. “Our nanny was a lenient caretaker and let us run quite wild. Those were happy, carefree times, catching minnows, building forts, or playing at being highwaymen.”

  “There was a fort on our street, but the big boys ran it and the littles weren’t allowed to join in. I played hopscotch and jumped rope with my friends.” Rose avoided mention of her days as a button girl in a sewing factory.

  In the comfortable silence following the meal, Rose savored the wine sending warm tendrils through her body. “This tastes like liquid sunlight.”

  “I’m happy you enjoy it. Would you care to walk alongside the stream, or wade in it?”

  Rose paused for a moment, caught between decorum and having fun. “I would like that. I must confess my shoes are quite uncomfortable.”

  She quickly shed them, and Will did the same before rolling up his trouser legs. In this private grove, there was no need to worry about propriety and they might behave like children. Will took Rose’s hand to pull her up and continued to hold it as they entered the water together.

  The chill quickly numbed Rose’s feet all the way to the ankles. She held her skirts high to avoid wetting them. Will’s glance lingered on her legs, making them feel as hot as her feet were cold.

  Stones poked here soles as they waded over the pebbles to a slower part of the stream. In that quiet eddy, fish made their beds on a smooth mud bottom. Rose watched in fascination as they fanned the dirt with their tails until they’d made perfect circles in which to lay eggs.

  Will let go of her hand, rolled up his sleeves and joined her in her nature study. Crouched with forearms on thighs, spectacles in danger of slipping off his nose into the stream, and hair tumbling across his forehead, he appeared very young and playful. How had she once imagined him staid and stuffy? It went to show that most people had hidden depths society often forbade them to show.

  “Aren’t they a marvel,” he exclaimed. “One forgets the wonders of nature when surrounde
d by city streets for too long.”

  “Have you decided whether to add a koi pond to your conservatory? It is not too late to include one in your plan,” Rose said.

  He regarded her, his eyes keen and bright above the lenses. “If you would like one, then I would too, for I pray you will spend time there once the work is finished.”

  Naturally, she enjoyed his appreciation, but once again it seemed too sudden for him to feature her in his future. “Why do you like me so much? Surely there are women who would better suit you, those of your own class.”

  “No. There are not. The debutantes my mother has forced upon me seem little interested in anything outside the social whirl. Their eyes glaze over when I mention any topic of interest to me. But you possess such intelligence and express interest in many subjects. I am completely content in your company.”

  He stood, towering over her like one of the trees that sheltered them. “From the moment I entered your shop and met you, I was smitten—with your appearance, naturally, but even more by your bright and energetic nature. Although at first I expressed myself with excruciating awkwardness, I have since grown at ease in your presence. I enjoy your friendship very much, and pray you feel the same way about me.”

  “I do.” She waded nearer so she might take his hands. “I like spending time with you. But when you speak of future association that includes your family, I do not see how that will be possible. I am an interloper in your world.”

  He engulfed her hands in his. “You are not! And if any person in my family makes you feel so, I would end my association with them before I would end my friendship with you.”

  Before she knew what was happening, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bank. Throwing her arms around his neck, she snuggled close to his chest—enough to feel his heart beating. He laid her down on the cloth where they’d eaten lunch, breathing hard from his exertions and from something that made his eyes grow heavy-lidded and hungry. An answering flare of interest shot through Rose. They were evenly matched in a craving for something other than lunch on that blanket.

  Keep yer legs crossed if ya know what’s good for ya. Mum reminded her. Rose did not wish to end up in Arietta’s predicament, but she could enjoy herself within reason.

  Will knelt over her, his face coming nearer until her eyes closed in anticipation of a kiss. Doubts evaporated and Rose felt nothing but the sensation of his lips moving against hers. She opened to soft exploring warmth, the tip of her tongue meeting his. Electricity crackled through her and her body demanded more! as she wrapped her arms around him.

  Through the cloth, sticks and stones poked her back, reminding her of the physical world. Only so far and no further, she recalled, but a stretching and opening inside her made her thighs tremble. She gasped for air, then plunged into deeper kissing, running her hands down Will’s back to feel the warm muscle beneath his shirt.

  Above them, birds chirped. Across heated flesh, a breeze blew. Nearby, water splashed along its rocky course. But at this center of this, two bodies twined together discovering continents within each other.

  Will cupped her breast through her dress and his clothed erection rubbed the throbbing point between her legs. She threaded her fingers through his hair and cradled his head, guiding his mouth to her breast, which had somehow shifted above her bodice’s neckline. More lightning crackled where his lips, tongue, then teeth teased at her nipple. Rose’s helpless moan prompted Will’s answering groan.

  He switched his attention from one breast to the other.

  “Lovely! It feels so…” Her eyelids flickered open and she gazed the branches swaying overhead, sunlight peeking between them to dazzle her. Just like when he had touched her in the conservatory, the spot he rubbed against erupted and bliss washed through her. Rose closed her eyes against the sunlight and soared. “Oh!”

  Will growled his approval of her response and after several more thrusts, he too froze. She understood the ecstasy which had overtaken her had also caught him up in its wild talons. An odd sense of pride filled her that she could bring him to that state. How wonderful for two people to move all barriers and become that naked—so to speak—with one another. Rose had never trusted a man enough to let him touch her so deeply, and not just in a physical way.

  Was this what Hattie felt with Guy? Was this love?

  The moment of bliss ebbed as Will moved to lie beside her. “I apologize,” he murmured. “To invite you to this place and then take advantage. Please, forgive me. I did not intend to go so far.”

  Rose stopped him with a finger over his lips. “Don’t ruin it with an apology. We both chose this, and I enjoyed it. Didn’t you?”

  “Of course! But a gentleman is supposed keep his baser urges in check and respect a lady.” His hazel eyes appeared nearly as green as the leaves today as he gazed at her. “I want you to understand in what high esteem I hold you. What we did was marvelous, but I would not wish you to think it was my sole intent in bringing you here.”

  “I don’t,” she assured him. “Now stop fretting and let us enjoy the rest of our time together.” She patted the blanket and Will reclined beside her once more. “Thank you for bringing me here today. This spot is lovely.”

  “Not as lovely as you,” he replied.

  “Now that is precisely the right thing to say.”

  He pulled her into his arms, and for several minutes they listened to the sounds of nature around them.

  “I meant to tell you that Mr. Jennings is on the case, and I have also spoken with Hardy’s Detective Rumsfield. Between them, they should be able to find a way to protect Miss Sweet from her guardian.”

  “It is criminal she can’t simply to go to the authorities to help her,” Rose replied. “She might try, of course, but he’d declare her mentally weak and they’d buy it. At least Merker never hit her. That’s the way men keep their women in line where I come from.”

  Will’s body stiffened. “Have you ever been hit by a man, Rose?”

  “Smacks are a given where I come from. I’ve taken a few blows and handed some out as well.” She snorted. “Anyhow, it’s more honest than declaring someone loony to get your way. You must think us an uncivilized lot.”

  “Such treatment may hide under a veneer of gentility. Good breeding certainly does not eradicate violence.” He paused. “I should like to meet your family. Maybe I could attend your sister’s wedding with you if it is not too presumptuous of me to ask.”

  And there it was—the sledgehammer blow to her heart that startled Rose awake and knocked off her rose-colored glasses. Mr. William Carmody meeting the flotsam and jetsam of Cory Street? Inconceivable! She could never, would never take him there with her. The reality of the truth she’d been avoiding came home to roost like an ugly vulture in a dovecote.

  Rose wriggled away from his embrace and sat up. “I, um, ought to be going. We’ve lingered too long and Candace might need something from me.”

  Will sat too. “I am sorry. I should not have asked. Please don’t take offense, Rose.”

  She shook her head as she hurriedly gathered picnic things and shoved them in the basket. “I am not offended. But honestly, I cannot invite you to Arietta’s wedding. And I think it best if, after today, we put some distance between us. There is much to consider. We both should take time to do that.”

  She said “consider” but actually meant “break it off.” Her fledgling feelings for Will Carmody must end, for his sake as well as for hers. Hearts would be broken if they danced further down this garden path, and a stubbed toe of loss would be a great deal better than a gaping wound later.

  Chapter Fourteen

  From the moment Rose expressed her awed shock at the grandeur of Carmody Hall, William knew he’d made an error in bringing her there. He should not have introduced his mother on their first outing. Who was foolish enough to do that? Although, for several minutes in the garden, it seemed his gambit had worked. Mother seemed to like Rose. The differences in their station were
forgotten as they discussed flowers. Will had laid some groundwork for the future. For he already knew, if Rose Gardener would have him, he wanted to marry her one day.

  Their picnic by the stream, and what came after, reassured him he was on the right course. But then he’d gone too far by mentioning meeting Rose’s family and the sun extinguished. She withdrew from his arms, declaring it time to go home.

  As they shook out the wrinkled cloth and folded it neatly, Will realized “take time to consider” actually meant “let’s remain friends.” She was gently letting him know she did not wish to see him again. Not privately at any rate. He supposed they could not avoid each other at Guy and Hattie’s wedding.

  Feeling their golden moments slipping away, he attempted to bridge the gap. “Rose, I know I’ve pushed too far too fast, introducing you to my mother and asking to meet yours. This is the first time we’ve gone out together. I have frightened you with my intensity. Please give me another chance.”

  She exhaled a long breath and stared at the stream. “I don’t… I don’t believe it is a good idea, William. I am attempting to apply some common sense. I know in my heart there could be no future we might share. Please, let us not fool ourselves about that.”

  “But there is hope of a future, if we are willing to try for it,” he protested. “Please do not give up so easily.”

  Rose continued to regard the water as if she saw her entire life flowing by upon its surface. “I—I fear you are being unrealistic. Your family is grand. Mine is not merely a few pegs down the social ladder. We are below the bottom rung. You and I simply do not fit into one another’s worlds, and there is no arguing with that.”

  He reached out to touch her arm. “Rose. Please, do not rush to a decision. You are part of a new movement that believes in equality. Should that not apply to social status as well as gender?”