“I shall escort you.”
“Will you fight off the dogs, too?”
He grinned. “Have no fear, my lady. I shall save you.”
She returned his grin and he flushed violently. Humored, she allowed him to open the gate for her and kick away some of the dogs.
“That was your mother’s garden once, was it not?”
The moment she opened her mouth, she was suddenly regretful. If Adam Wellesbourne was still devastated by his wife’s death, she had no idea how the rest of the family felt. She should have been more sensitive. But John merely nodded his head without a hint of distress.
“Many years ago. After she passed away, Father would not touch it, nor would he let anyone else. It eventually died away.”
“A pity,” she said. “It looks as if it was a lovely place, once.”
“It was.”
“How did your mother die?”
“In childbirth.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Truly? Wasn’t she rather old to be having children? She already had four grown boys by that time.”
John’s head bobbed up and down. “I was nine years of age when she passed away. Matthew was twenty-two, Mark was twenty, and Luke was thirteen. I remember the day that it happened clearly; Mother’s time came early. She lay in bed for three days trying to deliver the child but she died with it still inside her. Father buried her in her garden. She was not quite forty years of age.”
Alixandrea looked at him, dismayed with understanding. “That is why your father will not touch the garden.”
“Exactly. She lies at rest there.”
They reached the door that led into the kitchen and Alixandrea paused, facing her new brother-in-law. “John,” she said slowly. “Do you think your father would be horribly offended if I revitalized your mother’s garden? As a tribute to her memory, of course. It just does not seem right that something she loved and tended so carefully should be allowed to lie dead. It seems to me that it should be kept living and beautiful as a reminder of her.”
John’s expression changed from curious to doubtful to hopeful and back again. “I… I do not know, my lady. My Father is… well, he can be…”
She put a hand on his arm. “Say no more. Your brother has already explained such things to me. I will speak to him about it to see what he thinks.”
John visibly sighed. “That is wise, my lady. But… well, if you would like my opinion, I think it is a good idea. I used to spend a lot of time with Mother in the garden when I was very young. I’d almost forgotten, it seems so long ago. But… but I should like to see Mother’s garden live again.”
She smiled at him as he led her into the kitchen, fighting off the amorous dogs as they went. By the time they entered the hall, all of the Wellesbourne brothers and Lady Caroline were gathered at the long table, huddled in a cluster. Alixandrea metMatthew’s eyes over the top of the group and, for a moment, she would swear until the day she died that sparks literally flew. She could not have looked away from him if she’d tried.
His rugged, handsome face relaxed, as if all of his troubles just suddenly vanished at the sight of her. He looked exhausted, but not too tired to walk over and meet her.
“I see Johnny found you.” He was careful not to reach out and touch her, no matter how badly he wanted to. “Where were you?”
“The dogs chased me outside and I was locked out.” She wondered why he’d not yet made a move to take her hand or otherwise greet his new wife. “Your brother said that you were looking for me.”
“I was.” He cast a long glance at John, who wisely took the hint and left them alone. “Where is your maid?” he asked quietly.
“I am not sure, she was not in my chamber when I awoke,” she answered back, also quietly. “Why? Is something wrong?”
He shook his head, glancing casually around the hall to make sure there were no obvious signs of them being watched. “The last she saw of the two of us together was when I postponed our marriage. We must be careful how we behave in public. For all your maid knows, I am still gravely displeased with you and with the prospect of our marriage. I do not want her to think otherwise.”
“Is that why you did not take my hand just now?”
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “You’ll never know how difficult that was for me. As I stand here and look at you, I want to take you in my arms so badly that they ache.”
It was a sweet thing to say. “Can I at least smile at you?”
“Not in public.”
