“I will walk you both to the gardens and have someone set up a picnic.”
The ladies nodded, then followed him out of his study and down the corridor. Alexander only stopped briefly to order the maids to bring a blanket and some tea for their picnic. Theodora and Rosalind remained silent as they walked out of the house and into the garden. The gravel crunched under their boots until they reached the grand entrance to the garden of Hawthorne House.
“You have a beautiful garden,” Theodora exclaimed breathlessly as she looked around.
“Thank you, it was our mother’s pride and joy.” Alexander spoke before he could think.
Rosalind’s head shot up at the mention of their mother, but she did not look at him or show any expressions that would give away what she was feeling. Theodora must have noticed her reaction, but he was grateful that she did not ask Rosalind anything.
Perhaps I should leave.
But watching Theodora kept him rooted.
“Ah! Here come the maids,” Theo announced brightly, although her eyes still held some sadness.
Alexander wondered what had happened to her and if she could really help Rosalind in the state she was in today.
“Set it up over there,” he addressed the maids and pointed to a vacant spot under the weeping willow that his mother had claimed she planted herself around twenty years ago.
As they strode towards the weeping willow, the maids walked ahead and set up the blanket and tea tray. For a final addition, they added a small china vase, with a little daisy in it, at the center of the blanket. Alexander nodded approvingly at them before they left.
“This is wonderful, thank you, Your Grace and Lady Rosalind. I will just set the tray down here.” Theodora bent to set down the tray and Alexander had to avert his eyes, not trusting himself or his body’s reaction.
He lingered a few steps away as the girls settled down on the blanket. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, and he told himself he was giving them space and being considerate. But he stayed because Theodora was impossible not to look at and admire.
Both in the sunlight and moonlight she mesmerized him. As she spoke quietly to Rosalind, he regarded the way her fair skin glowed in the midmorning sun and how her curls fell carelessly out of their pins. She did not seem to care about her appearance and yet she looked effortlessly beautiful. Theo cut the cake into neat slices, handing one to Rosalind and turning towards him to offer a slice but Alexander shook his head.
“You know,” Theodora said conversationally as she faced Rosalind again, “My friend, Maria, makes these famous lemon cakes. She insists that they are the perfect comfort food.”
Rosalind took a bite, eyes fluttering shut. “They are delicious.” She blushed as if she should not have said that, then softly she asked, “Why does your friend call it comfort food?”
Theo looked triumphant. This was the most Rosalind had said to her yet.
“Yes, well—” She looked at Alexander as if she were unsure about whether she should continue. “Well…Maria baked an entire tray of cakes the day before she discovered that her fiancé was having an affair with another woman.”
Rosalind choked on her cake.
“Good lord, Miss Dowell.” Alexander ran to Rosalind but stopped short when he realized that Rosalind had not choked; she’d laughed.
He had not seen her laugh in a long time. He looked at Theo who shrugged lightly and smiled smugly at him. Alexander shook his head and chuckled.
“Maria recovered. Eventually,” she continued.
Rosalind stared at her wide-eyed. “I…did not mean to laugh. That is… awful.”
“It was awful, but we do laugh about it now, so please do not feel bad.” Theo patted Rosalind’s knee lightly. “Maria survived. And she learned that lemon cake is not a cure for heartbreak, but it does soften the blow.”
Alexander watched Rosalind carefully. She was listening.
Really listening.
Her shoulders were less tense. Her eyes were less clouded and she looked… present. He was sure that Theo noticed it too. He could see it in the way she observed Rosalind. This time she did it more quietly, attentively, and with a kind of gentle curiosity that was nothing like the clinical interrogation she had conducted before. He felt a pang of guilt.
Perhaps she means well.
Theo set her own slice aside and rose gracefully.
“Lady Rosalind,” she said softly, “would you like to go for a walk? Just a short one. The weather is lovely today.”
