“Then show me.”
Silas smirked. “And what do I get in return?”
Elswyth spoke through clenched teeth. “The gratitude of a lady.”
“I assure you, I have no shortage of grateful ladies already,” Silas said, smiling.
“You disgust me.”
“Do I? And when you watched Venus and me in the hedge maze, was that disgust on your face? I must have misread you.”
Heat rose in Elswyth’s cheeks. She turned away. Why was she suddenly so warm? The room felt as though it had changed from greenhouse to jungle.
She was desperate to change the subject. She needed to learn what was in that letter. Why would someone write her with such secrecy? It could be a suitor, as Silas suggested, but Elswyth doubted that. She looked at the black rose and thought of the bouquet in her sister’s room with its cryptic message. But surely…
“Help me read it, Blackthorn, and I’ll… I’ll…”
Silas arched an eyebrow, waiting expectantly. A thin sheen of sweat had returned to his forehead, distracting her.
“I’ll manage your experiments for Gall next week.”
“All week? And how will that fit in between promenades in the park, my lady?”
“I’ll find the time. Will you help me?”
Silas sighed and walked slowly to her. He plucked the letter from her hands. “There’s no need, Elderwood,” he said, smiling. “I just wanted to see what I could get you to do.”
Elswyth was about to protest when Silas stuck her letter into the flame of an open candle.
“What are you doing?” Elswyth shouted. She dove at his hand and pushed it away from the flame. She tried to wrench the letter away from him, but he was too tall. Instead, she clung to his wrist,trying to pull the letter toward her. It was no use; trying to move his arm was like trying to pull down the branch of a tree. Instead she practically hung from him, her face near his neck, staring into the curious depths of his amber amulet.
She dangled there for a moment, breathing heavily. Her face was still flushed. Had the furnace come on in the greenhouse? Would a greenhouse even have a furnace? Something pleasant prickled through her, a little thrill of pleasure, and her muscles began to relax. She dropped his arm and moved three paces back. Silas watched her, looking somewhat flushed himself. He frowned, his usual smirk vanishing, and extended the letter toward her.
“I would have given it to you,” he said, clearing his throat. “No need to wrestle me for it.”
She grabbed it from him. “You were going to destroy it.”
He gestured to the blank page. “Lemon juice, Elderwood. That or oak gall. Concentrated floromantically to create a quite effective invisible ink. One activated by heat.”
Elswyth stopped staring at him and looked at the blank paper—or what had once been blank. Now, golden-brown letters looped across the page. The hidden message was only half-developed, barely visible against the white parchment.
“Really, I thought you were the botanist here. It was quite obvious.”
Elswyth ignored him. She moved to the candle and held the letter just close enough to feel the heat on her hand, careful not to lower it too far, lest the paper catch fire. Her fingers shook, and that strange pleasure still wormed in her stomach, making her breath labored.
Swirling letters bloomed across the page, illuminated from the back by the golden flame.
Miss Elderwood,
I do apologize for bothering you at your place of work. And for the secrecy necessary in my methods of contacting you. However, I needed to ensure that you explored this letter thoroughly, and in doing so I may have used your natural curiosity against you.
I did warn you that not all poisons are fatal. And that the ladies of court are renowned for employing botany’s more subtle uses to manipulate the minds of friends and enemies alike. I believe a comprehensive instruction in poisons includes learning to defend oneself against this sort of manipulation.
If one were to be exposed to, say, a high dosage of vascular stimulants, aphrodisiacs, and euphoria-inducing drugs—perhaps administered through skin contact with an everyday item like a letter—one risks losing their better judgment, becoming suggestible and easily manipulated by one’s enemies.
I chose to administer this lesson in an enclosed, safe environment like your laboratory to avoid any potential unwanted interactions. That, and the hallucinogens I included can make the gardens quite beautiful. I thought I should warn you, should the walls start moving. If you are unable to identify the psychotoxins in your blood and synthesize the antidotes in time, do not fret—the effects should wear off by morning.
Best of luck,
