Page 20 of A Fearless Heart
“How many gardens do you actually have here? It seems like a hundred.”
“It’s actually only about two dozen, depending on what you call a garden versus, say, a landscape.”
“And you manageallof it?”
“Of course. Who else?”
“A gardener, maybe? I mean a proper gardener, who knows how to do everything.”
“I know how to do everything, Mr Court.”
“But you’re the lady of the house. Don’t you have other tasks?”
Cady bit her lip to hide a smile. “Some ladies might, but I do not. I’m not married, so I’ve no husband to attend to. I’m not a mother, so I’ve no children to raise. Since my father’s death, I’ve been quite out of Society, so I’ve no events to plan for.”
“There were people here, though. That Pollack idiot, and the other man, and the ladies.”
“A few neighbors do insist on observing the niceties,” Cady acknowledged. “Mrs Bowcott—that’s the vicar’s wife—feels it’s her duty to visit. Mr Heath is a gardener himself, so he’s all right. And Mr Pollack…well, we’ve established both his reasons for coming before and why he shall never be welcome here again. But I assure you, that is practically the end of the list.”
“Do you mind?”
“Mind what? Being ostracized? I’d mind more if I didn’t have Calderwood to care for. And anyway, I don’t like leaving the estate now.”
“Why not?”
She shuddered. “I just don’t care to. Now, let’s see how the Italian garden is progressing. The warm spell should promote a lot of growth these next few days…”
Once on the firm ground of garden talk, Cady felt much more comfortable. She pointed out several items for Gabe to do (somehow, though she’d never say it out loud, he seemed much more like a Gabe than a Mr Court). He noted them all and nodded as if he was actually listening, even asking questions to be sure he got things right. When Cady asked him to remind her of what she’d said so far, he recited the entire list from memory.
“How do you do that?” she asked, impressed.
“Just a knack,” he said with a shrug. “I’m used to having to keep a lot of int—that is, things in my head.”
“A good skill to have, no matter what you do.” Cady looked around. Somehow they’d made their way through several of the gardens, and ended up at the gate that eventually led to her own secret garden.
“Where’s that go?” he asked, pointing to the gate and beyond. “Looks like more gardens, but I can’t see how else to get there.”
“You don’t get there, Mr Court. It’s restricted.”
“Why?”
He didn’t seem upset about it, only curious. Almost like a puppy with a new scent…except that describing Gabe Court as a puppy made him seem harmless, and no one interested in Cady’s private domain was harmless.
“It’s where I do my work and conduct my experiments. There are plants and substances that could be very dangerous to someone just wandering in.”
“But if you were there to show me around, I wouldn’t be wandering,” Gabe countered.
“Why are you so interested?”
He shrugged, giving her a lopsided, almost bashful smile. “You make it sound interesting. In fact—”
Before he could go on, Cady heard her name shouted from all the way across the yard, and spun around to see what was going on.
Chapter 11
“Who’s that?” Gabe muttered, jerkinghis head toward the main gardens. He was deeply annoyed that someone interrupted him just then. He was breaking down the barriers Arcadia kept all around her, and with a little more effort, he would have got her to agree to take him into the restricted gardens and glasshouses. He’d gleaned that Arcadia—whatever else she might be—was the sort of person who kept her word once she gave it. He was going to use that to get what he needed.
She was heading toward the source of the call, with a look of such delight that Gabe actually felt a stab of envy.
