‘Piles, this time,’ said Harriet. ‘F…lipping massive.’ and strode off, calling to the maid for her shawl and leaving Thea slack jawed behind her.
Thea didn’t need to see the doctor, neither did she need to travel to the north of the city, but she accompanied Harriet anyway. Moral support, she told herself. Nothing to do with the little bit of excitement and recognition she had found in the physic garden a few days earlier.
Speckle’s eyes lit when he saw them both. ‘Your Grace, and Mrs Henry,’ he said, smiling. ‘What a pleasure. And right on time as always, I was just finishing up Mrs Henry’s tincture. Your Grace, you are welcome to wait inside, or you know your way around the garden?’ He understood her already, she thought. Good doctors knew you had to take care of more than physical ailments.
‘I will have another look around, if you don’t mind?’ she said, already stepping towards the path to the back garden.
‘And what is wrong with this rosemary?’ came a gruff voice as she emerged into the greenery.
‘Age, sir,’ came a female voice with a thick, south-of-the-river accent. ‘They have a lifespan.’
‘Then why is it still here?’ the cold voice asked.
‘It has a little useable material left for creams. I have struck cuttings and I will switch it out next spring.’
‘You will switch it now if you know what’s good for you.’
‘Yes, sir.’
There was gruff muttering and then footsteps. Thea didn’t know where to put herself – she hadn’t considered that Herbert might be at home, let alone how he would react to finding a duchess in his back garden. She slipped behind some beanpoles and held her breath until she heard the footsteps receding. Gingerly, she turned to leave, but then heard a voice behind her.
‘What are you doing in here?’ She froze.
‘Ah. Hello.’ She turned and looked down into the frowning face of Frankie.
‘Duchess?’ Frankie looked confused and not awfully pleased.
‘Your… never mind.’ She gave up on the title. ‘I was just…’
‘What are you doing here?’ Frankie said again.
‘Ah…’ Thea wasn’t used to being spoken to like this, but felt caught off guard and wasn’t sure why. ‘My friend is with Doctor Speckle for her… for a tincture, and I thought… I’ll just go. I can see it’s a bad time.’ She turned but an arm caught hers. It was unheard of to be touched by a commoner. Too astonished to react, Thea looked at Frankie’s hand, then back at Frankie, who didn’t seem to care.
‘Come and see,’ she said. ‘While she gets her piles sorted.’
Thea faltered. ‘How did you know it was…?’
‘Kit asked forDaturaleaf andEchinopsstem earlier. That’s his most recent idea for piles. Came from Ethiopia.’
Thea followed Frankie’s hasty, short strides as she struggled to keep up with the gait and the conversation. ‘Is it safe?’
Frankie shrugged. ‘Let’s see how your friend is later.’ She turned with a cheeky grin that would rival one of Harriet’s and led Thea to a little terrace with two wooden chairs and a table at the north edge of the garden. Frankie bypassed the comfort of a seat in the late summer sun and motioned to a plant in a large pot flanking the cobbles. She said nothing but looked at Thea intently. Thea understood that she was being tested. She looked from Frankie to the plant and back. The gardener who had first touched her, and now was challenging her, presumably at plant identification. Her eyes narrowed a little in acceptance of the task, and she peered closely at the yellow flowers and pinnate foliage.
‘Cassia?’ she asked. Frankie nodded. ‘Not easy to flower,’ said Thea, wondering if Frankie was just looking for compliments. She’d lost hers last year when Elton had forgotten to take it inside during the cold London season.
‘Not hard, but look more carefully,’ said Frankie. Thea stepped closer and did as instructed, noticing a thin, green pod emerging from a short stalk on the stem.
‘It’s seeding,’ she exclaimed with pleasure, and turned back to the gardener.
‘It is,’ was all Frankie said, but she crossed her arms and beamed. It lit up her face with a joy Thea hadn’t seen in her until now. Thea took a step towards her.
‘That is unheard of,’ she said, keen to nurture Frankie’s joy. For some reason, she felt privileged to be allowed to see it.
‘So I understand,’ said Frankie – not arrogantly, but with an air of self-confidence Thea wished she possessed herself.
‘You know this has been cultivated for some time in England,’ said Thea. ‘First by the Duchess of Beaufort on the Badminton estate.’ This sparked Frankie’s attention. ‘She was one of the great growers of the last century but only flowered it. There was no seed.’
‘Good for her,’ said Frankie, looking pleased.
