Page 43 of Three Scandals for the Wild Duke

“Indeed, I have,” Emma replied, collecting her scattered nerves. She approached him, returning his smile with one that she hoped masked what had driven her here.

“Cherry saplings,” Alexander explained, his gaze following hers to the delicate seedlings he was tending. “I received them only recently. From the Far East,” he added, a note of pride coloring his voice.

“I see your collection reaches out to even the farthest corners of the world,” Emma remarked, genuinely impressed despite the emotions swirling within her.

“Oh, but where is the adventure if one stays within the confines of their quarters?” Alexander responded with a playful smile. He handed her a pair of garden shears, an invitation clear in his eyes. “Would you like to try pruning the more mature plants with me?”

“Why, I’d be honored,” she accepted, taking the shears with a sense of purpose she hadn’t felt in days.

“These plants seem to have seen more adventure than I have,” Emma found herself chuckling sheepishly as she carefully snipped away at the branches. Or ever will, she added silently in her thoughts, a trace of melancholy shadowing her brief mirth.

“Would you like to travel, Emma?” Firman asked, his question slicing neatly through her reverie.

“More than anything,” Emma responded, hearing the longing in her voice. She had always wondered about what lay beyond the horizon, what mysteries the other side of the tide might hold.

Alas, that was something also not written for her, she thought miserably, her dream seeming as distant as the lands that nurtured the saplings before her.

“You will. One day. I can feel it,” he said encouragingly, his confidence unwavering as he expertly tended to the plants, snipping away the unwanted parts with precision.

“You have such confidence,” she remarked with a sheepish chuckle, touched by his optimism.

“Because I canfeelit,” he replied, giving her a conspiratorial wink. His lightheartedness was infectious, and despite the heavy shadows that clung to her thoughts, Emma laughed.

“I often make accurate predictions, Emma. So you just wait and see,” Alexander added with a twinkle in his eye that suggested he was only half-joking.

“Why, I didn’t realize I was friends with a soothsayer,” Emma responded, making a show of being thoroughly impressed, which drew a hearty laugh from him.

“Indeed, you are,” he agreed, his laughter subsiding into a warm smile.

“But do you know something, Emma?” he suddenly asked, his tone shifting to one of gentle seriousness. “The best adventures lay right at our doorsteps. But we often get caught up looking too far ahead, we miss the best ones right in front of us,” he added, his eyes scanning the garden around them as if to emphasize his point.

Emma contemplated his words for a moment. They resonated with her more deeply than she expected, stirring thoughts of missed opportunities and overlooked joys in her own life.

“I suppose every breath we take is an adventure. If only we spare a moment to truly feel and look,” she agreed, her voice soft, reflecting the introspection his words had prompted.

“Ah, now I see the wisdom Olivia speaks so highly of,” he said, a note of admiration in his voice that caught Emma off guard.

And Emma felt her brow quirk in surprise. “Yes,” he nodded, responding to the unspoken question in her eyes. “Olivia speaks so much of you. My sister is very fond of you, Emma. And with good reason too,” he elaborated, his affirmation sending a wave of warmth through her.

Everyone around her seemed to harbor such faith and confidence in her abilities, if only Emma could muster the same for herself. She suddenly felt a strong desire to live up to these expectations. She didn’t want to let down those who believed in her—not Antoinetta, not Olivia, not Lady Amberton, not Firman, and especially not George.

The thought of George tightened her chest once more as she recalled their recent, strained parting and the evident disappointment in his eyes. Perhaps, she thought ruefully, it was too late to mend things with George.

“Thank you, Alexander,” Emma said, her voice slightly shaky as she fumbled with the garden shears in her hands.

“It is but the truth,” he responded warmly, his smile encouraging.

As she returned his smile, a voice in her head reminded her of the daunting task she was stalling. Emma swallowed hard, her smile faltering as reality seeped back in. She set down the shears and dusted off her hands, her mind racing with her next steps. If she was to create a scandal, as her mother had plotted, she needed a witness.

Perhaps if someone saw her exiting the maze with him? The idea formed fully in her mind, and while it repulsed her, desperation edged her forward.

“I should be on my way now,” she announced, more abruptly than intended.

“So soon?” Alexander’s voice carried a hint of disappointment.

“C–can you show me the way out? I’m afraid I got lost earlier, and that’s how I stumbled in here,” she added, managing a weak smile. At least one of her statements was true, and she clung to that small truth to make herself feel less appalled by the duplicity of her actions.

“Why, of course I can,” Alexander said as he dropped his dirt-covered tools with a clatter.

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