“Be careful what you tell me.” I laughed as the car door opened and Nicky climbed out. “I might actually do it.”
The moment I stood up on the outside of the car, a small cheer rose from the people waiting for us. There was clapping and shouting from the shining, excited faces looking back at us.
“Your Royal Highness.” A short, plump, balding man stepped forward. “I’m Petey Groves, sir, and I manage this garden. We’re so happy you could join us on this important occasion.”
“A pleasure, Mr. Groves. Thank you for having us.” Nicky pressed a hand to my back. “This is my fiancée, Kyra. We’re both very interested to see how you run this community garden and what kind of results you’re seeing.”
“Well, sir, I’ll be glad to give you the short tour, and then you can wander around as you’d like and talk to the people who are most active in growing things.” He moved to the side and swept one arm outward. “Right this way, if you will.”
Nicky held my hand as we tramped across the neatly laid out plots. I breathed in deep, loving the aroma of freshly turned over soil, dark and fertile. This was my happy place, my nirvana, and I wanted nothing more than to get on my knees and dig.
Mr. Groves pointed out each crop and explained that they’d been slowly acquiring more land. “We started out with two small plots, with just my family and one other person’s group growing food,” he told us. “Then a friend said she’d like to do something like we were, so we managed to rent a bit more of the land. Eventually, we bought that extra and even a bit more. Now we have over forty families with active growing plots.”
“That’s an amazing number.” I stooped to rub a soft, velvety leaf. “And each family eats the food they grow?”
“Yes, miss.” Mr. Groves nodded. “Most all of them also give a portion to a local food bank. It’s nice for those folks to have fresh vegetables now and again.”
“I believe I heard you have an elder program, too, don’t you?” Nicky inquired. “That sounds very interesting.”
“It is, sir.” Mr. Groves smiled widely. “Some of our seniors were depressed because they had to give up gardening, so we created a plot that’s just a little larger than our normal ones, and now they have a place to come and garden. We widened the rows, and a generous donation allowed us to buy a couple of chairs with wheels that can handle the softer dirt. All of our elder gardeners work that plot together—some might have a row, others just a few plants, but they’re happy to be back in the garden. We’ve also invited some children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn about plants to join us, and some of them like to work in the senior plot. The older folks teach the younger kids what they know about growing plants, and those kids help them with some of the more physically demanding tasks, if they need it. We’ve seen many sweet relationships grow from that, too.”
“That’s brilliant.” Nicky glanced at me. “I can see your grandmother getting involved in something like that.”
“Oh, that’s true.” I turned to Mr. Groves. “I would really like to bring my grandmother here to see this the next time she visits England. She’d love it.”
The man’s chest puffed out. “Well, we’d be happy to have both of you come visit, Ms. Duncan. And I realize that we have to go through the proper channels for this, but it would be a true honor if you would consider becoming a patron of the Tottenham Gardens. We’ve all followed you with great interest, and we’re so happy that someone with such a heart for the soil and farming is joining the Royal Family.”
A flush of pleasure spread over my face. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Well.” He nodded, his own cheeks a bit pink, too. “Unless there’s something else you’d like to see particularly, I’ll let you both wander around, perhaps meet some of our gardeners. I know they’re all eager to say hello.”
So saying, he meandered to the next plot to speak with other visitors, leaving Nicky and me alone for the moment.
It was a beautiful spring day, with a breeze blowing over the open land, and I was happier than I’d been in a long time, here in my element. There were lots of people around us, but none were openly staring, and even the reporters were keeping their distance. Nicky lifted our joined hands and brushed a kiss over my fingers.
“There’s my Ky,” he murmured, just loud enough for my ears. “That’s the smile I’ve been missing. You just needed to get out here and dig in the dirt a bit, didn’t you?”
I laughed. “This is exactly what I needed, Nicky. Thank you for realizing that.” I tilted my head, gesturing to a group of families a few rows away from us who were working on the ground. “They seem to be doing something fun. I think I’ll go see what they’re up to, if you don’t mind.”
“Not a bit.” He released my hand. “I want to speak with the community liaison about how they’re distributing the surplus vegetables. I’ll catch up with you in a little while.”
Walking over to the people kneeling in the dirt felt a little like being the new girl at school, approaching a table of people I didn’t know. I could tell that they saw me coming, because of the way their posture and voices changed, but none of them looked at me directly.
Remembering everything I’d learned from Lady Marjorie, Sophie and the rest of the Palace crew, along with the examples set by Alex, I stopped by the first woman I came to and held out my hand.
“Hello,” I said brightly. “I’m Kyra. What are you all growing here?”
She turned a bright red and stammered an answer. “Oh, miss—oh, we’ve just, em, we’ve planted broccoli and brussels sprouts, you see. They’re just starting to come up here.”
I knelt down to examine the tender baby plants. “Oh, look at them ... they’re absolutely adorable, aren’t they?” Scooping up some of the dark soil, I let it sift through my fingers. “You’ve got a nice, rich ground here. Are you using anything to supplement the nutrients in the soil, or is this all natural?”
One of the men stepped forward, his arms behind his back. “We add compost there, miss, mix it right in. I’ve been making my own for a number of years, for my own home garden, and now I bring it here, too.”
“That’s wonderful.” I rose to my feet, dusting off my hands on my jeans. “I’m Kyra. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh.” He grinned. “Sam Halwood, miss. Pleasure’s all mine. We’re so glad you’re here today for the picnic. Petey only told us all this morning that you and Prince Nicholas were supposed to come, and the ladies have been quite excited about it.”
“As if you weren’t just the same way, Sam.” Another of the women snorted. “We’re happy to meet you, Miss Duncan. I’m Amy Halwood, Sam’s wife.”
