Oh yes.
Holy hell.
The garden was amazing.
Lush and well kept, but in a wild way. Profuse. And it spanned the entirety of the space between the wings and beyond. There were a few fountains, some paths, some benches and…
A woman in a pale blue dress and light cardigan.
She was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat even if there was no sun.
She had light-blonde hair, an abundance of it, all of it frizzy curls that poofed out under her hat, over her shoulders and down her back.
I couldn’t see her face due to the hat, and she had her back to me.
What I could see was a tall, sandy-haired, well-built, good-looking man was also in the garden. He was wearing jeans, a chambray shirt, and appeared to be measuring something on a rosebush. I knew this because he had a clipboard where he’d jot things down after he did whatever he was doing.
Oh.
And he snuck peeks at the blonde who was a good twenty yards away, seemingly oblivious to him as she deadheaded into one basket and clipped healthy blooms for another.
That certainly wasn’t Battle. I’d never seen a full-face photo of him, but I did know he had dark hair.
But I wondered if the woman was Temperance. Or Chastity.
“I’m sorry, madam?”
I turned at the voice to see the maid was in the room with me.
“Hi,” I greeted.
She smiled and asked, “Do you prefer your night creams to be on the bedside table, or in the bathroom?”
“Bedside table, thank you,” I answered then added, “I guess you know I’m Vivienne Dupree.”
She nodded, still smiling, as she walked to the bed. “I do. And I’m Mary. I’m the maid who’ll be taking care of your rooms.”
“Nice to meet you, Mary. And thank you in advance for taking care of me.”
Another nod from her, and she was going back across the room, saying, “We hope you enjoy your stay here.”
“I’m sure I will.”
And I was sure, in that moment.
I was hungry for tea. I couldn’t wait to meet Chastity and Temperance (though, Battle had been a bit of a pill before this excursion, so I was of two minds about meeting him). I was happy Prudence and I finally had the chance to get to know each other without a keyboard involved. And one of my favorite things was starting a book (also the writing of it, though, the finishing of it sucked since I’d miss it in that way you missed things you loved, but you knew you’d never get back).
So it was all good.
Very good.
I was on an adventure.
Another of my favorite things.
But I had no idea.
I had absolutely no idea all that was about to befall me in the seat of the Duke of Burleigh, The Inimitable Downs.
