Cecily nodded as he voiced her earlier thoughts.
“They certainly are,” she said. “I have learned to identify many things through smell since I began losing my sight.”
Val stopped for a minute, and she once more felt him gazing at her intently.
“Is that so?” he asked. “I imagine that is an amazing thing.”
Cecily blushed and nodded.
“I can tell a flower that is just freshly picked from one that was picked several hours ago,” she said bashfully.
Val murmured with intrigue.
“How interesting that must be,” he marveled.
Cecily nodded.
“It made me feel less sad as my vision waned,” she said. “I learned to keep myself occupied by practicing in identifying smells until I could do it without thinking.” She stopped herself and blushed. Was she telling Val too much about her condition? Should she stop, lest he think she was seeking pity?
“Remarkable,” he said. He sounded genuinely amazed, but Cecily felt uncomfortable. She wanted him to enjoy their outing, not continue talking about herself. She decided to change the subject.
“Do you have fountains out here?” she asked, trying not to sound nervous.
Val chuckled.
“I do,” he said. “In fact, we are coming up on the one that is situated in the center of the garden. It has four stone tiers with a little statue of a bird stemming up from the middle of the top one.”
Cecily gasped; her discomfort forgotten as she imagined the fountain.
“Oh, that sounds lovely,” she said. “You truly have one of the most magnificent gardens I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.”
“Thank you, Cecily,” he said humbly. “And surrounding the fountain is a circle of green grass, four stone benches, and around those are bushes of nothing but pink roses.”
Cecily put her hand over her bosom.
“How wonderful,” she breathed. “Oh, I could spend hours out here, just enjoying all the sweet, heavenly smell and sounds.”
Val patted her arm.
“You are certainly more than welcome to,” he said. “Spend as much time out here as you wish. I will be happy to describe it to you for as long as you like.”
Cecily looked at her husband blushing. What had brought about this sudden change in him? He had gone from all but ignoring her to being absolutely considerate of her blindness and happy to tell her about the world around her. Was it possible that things could work out between them, after all? After a fortnight, she began to believe that she could begin a friendship with the Duke.
The thought reminded her of her sister’s courtship. She imagined that Agnes was feeling something like what she was feeling at that moment. That idea made her smile. She hoped that she would get to visit with her sister soon. She wanted to hear everything about the Viscount in person and feel Agnes’ joy.
“What is it that has brought such a beautiful smile to your face, Cecily?” Val asked.
Cecily’s heart stopped and her cheeks flushed with giddiness. He had just called her smile beautiful. She thought back to when he said that everything in the garden was beautiful. Perhaps, he had been talking about her, as well.
“Oh, I was thinking of the letter I received from Agnes this morning,” she said, barely containing her glee.
Val chuckled.
“You received a letter from Lady Agnes?” he asked. “That is wonderful. How is your family doing?”
Cecily’s heart melted. His consideration for her family told her that he was, indeed, a good man.
“They are wonderful,” she said. “Agnes recently began courting the Viscount Marendale. She sounds as though she is falling fast in love with him, and I could not be happier for her.”
