“I do apologize. I just assumed…” His expression turned to one of dismay.
“Because my brother was an excellent rider?” She nodded, realizing he must have been thinking of him and their years together in battle. “He tried to teach me once, but I was quite hopeless. An utter dunce on horseback.”
This explanation seemed to assuage him, as did her smile, for she heard him let out a soft breath and then he smiled at her in return. “Would you care for a tour of the orangery?”
“Yes, I would love it.”
He surprised her by holding out his arm to her, as though she were a fine lady to be escorted.
She rested her hand in the crook of his arm, and tried to appear unaffected by their nearness or the fact she was touching him. But this was an impossibility, for the duke was a handsome man with a rugged build and her hand rested on solid muscle.
She thanked Herbert and Alfred, and then felt her heart beat faster as she walked off with the duke.
“I watched you for a while as you walked around the flower beds with my gardeners,” he admitted. “You appeared to be so fascinated with what they were telling you.”
She nodded. “I was. Those two are quite clever and know so much about how to breathe life into everything they plant. They are as much scientists as they are gardeners, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. I am fully aware of their capabilities.”
She glanced up at him as they strolled toward the orangery. “I am not surprised. You seem to notice everything. This helps me to understand how you view your responsibilities as duke.”
“How do you think I view them?”
“Similar to those of a gardener,” she said, knowing he would not expect her answer.
He laughed. “How so?”
“You make it your duty to nourish the people around you. Like plants, we all need food and light to flourish.”
“And you think I provide it?” he asked as they approached the side of the house that held a glass structure connected to an outer stone wall.
“Yes, I know it for a fact.”
He shrugged, but he seemed pleased by the remark.
“In my own small way,” she said, now musing about her role in the convent school these past few years, “I hoped to do the same with my students. I think this is why I enjoyed teaching so much. It gave me the ability to guide their young minds.”
Having said that, she frowned lightly because she could have done so much more had she been permitted to encourage her students to the extent she wished. Apparently, those above her did not consider it wise to educate the girls under her tutelage to think for themselves and explore the things they loved.
“You are frowning, Harriet. Why?”
“I had to follow a strict curriculum. The abbess was not as encouraging as I would have liked.”
“Ah, I see. She did not want the children laughing or asking too many questions.”
She winced. “Quite so. I did not see the harm in it, but I was overruled. Still, I did what I could to instill curiosity and enthusiasm in my students. But I never ignored the basic teaching regimen because how are they ever to get on in the world if they cannot read or do sums?”
She brushed back a curl that insisted on sticking to her cheek because of the light breeze blowing her hair around as it was drying.
The duke paused to watch her fuss with it. “Here, you need to tuck it more securely behind your ear.”
He did it for her, grinning as he did so. “No wonder George often referred to you as an imp. You have the look of one. Big eyes. Little ears that stick out.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I was hoping to present myself as refined and elegant.”
“No, you mustn’t try to blend in with all the other young ladies. Be your natural self.”
“Unrefined and inelegant?” Was this what he was suggesting about her? Yet, he did not appear to be rude or insulting to her.
