“Come along,” she finally said then led him out a separate door that he’d entered and exited into her gardens. There wasn’t much to enjoy as it was January, but she loved her gardens and spent as much time here as possible. What she appreciated most, especially when there were guests at Forester Hall, were the hedges that she planted tightly together and allowed to grow to beyond six feet to shelter her from the manor and anyone who might be outside.
“How did you find me?” Goodness, had he gone to the manor and asked? Neither Father nor Grandmother knew that she’d returned.
“Mrs. Harley advised that you were at the dower house. Your brother directed me to the conservatory, but he had to show me the path, as I would not have been able to find it otherwise.” He chuckled.
“That is intentional,” Violet advised. “This is a little place that I’ve carved out as my own.”
“You had the conservatory built and created all of this.”
“No.” A bit of sadness swept through her. “The conservatory was my mother’s, as were the gardens. But it was let go after she died, and nobody cared for the plants until I reclaimed them as my own eight years ago.”
“It’s peaceful,” he said quietly.
“It’s why I never want to leave.”
“Never?”
“Never,” she assured him. “Though, I will one day, as I’ll be given little choice.”
“If you marry a lord, as your father would expect, I’m certain the estate will have vast gardens.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Please, explain.”
“It’s not the number of gardens, or a conservatory. It’s my involvement in such. I could marry a gentleman who would not allow it. A husband would have full and complete control, thus all of this could be taken from me. Perhaps, he’d censure my reading and insist I sit at the pianoforte or stitch all day. I don’t wish to lose what I hold dear, thus I will not marry before I must.”
He stared down at her. “You assume such will happen? That you’ll be given no choices as to how you conduct your life.”
“Perhaps not so drastic, but most ladies in Society are quite happy to run a household, attend balls, host teas and luncheons, embroidery and whatnot. Such would bore me to tears, yet that is what will be expected of me.”
“Perhaps, but you could still enjoy these pastimes.”
“This is me, Lord Ferrard.” She stood back and held out her arms, knowing full well that she was not put to rights and filthy, but it was difficult to stay clean when one was digging in dirt and planting seeds, or weeding her gardens and any other activity she involved herself in. “No gentleman would allow his wife to appear as such.”
“Balderdash.”
She blinked at him. “I beg your pardon.”
“Balderdash!” he repeated. “You are assuming much. What did you call me…a fool?”
“I did not call you as such,” she reminded him.
“No, but you agreed with me, and right now, I believe you are being foolish.”
“That’s easy for you to say because when you do marry, you will be able to go about as you wish, and not even tell your wife if you didn’t wish to. I will not have the same freedom and frankly, it is quite unfair.”
“Did it ever occur to you that when the time comes that you could ask your husband what would be allowed before you accept? You might be surprised.”
“A gentleman who wishes to marry the daughter of a duke and gain my dowry might also lie to win me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. Or, even if he didn’t lie, I wouldn’t trust him because I’ve observed far too much in Society. He could promise me five conservatories and gardens, but as soon as we wed, could deny it all, and I’d be stuck. I’ve seen promises made and then broken within a week of the vows.”
Emory stared at her and wished he could argue, but he knew she was correct. “Not all gentlemen would make empty promises.”
“True. Yet, it is impossible to tell the difference between the two.”
