Page 20 of A Shadow Amongst the Roses

She moved on, aware now of the steadiness in her own step. She did not feel watched. She felt positioned.

The withdrawing room stood empty when she passed it again. The chairs had been reset. Papers cleared. The faint impression of decision lingered, like warmth after a fire had burned low.

Eleanor had not returned.

Eliza understood that, too.

She turned instead toward the south corridor and let herself out into the garden.

The afternoon had softened. The earlier gray had lifted into a muted brightness, the kind that promised nothing dramatic but held well enough. The air carried the scent of earth turned and settled again.

Thomas was near the far beds, sleeves rolled, attention fixed on a length of twine he was adjusting between two stakes. He did not see her at once.

She did not announce herself.

She watched instead as he tested the tension, stepped back, adjusted again. He worked as if the shape mattered more than the speed, as if things done properly were worth the time they took.

“Those will hold,” she said at last.

He glanced up, surprise flickering briefly before smoothing into familiarity. “They should.”

She approached, stopping just beyond his reach. “You finished at the boundary?”

“This morning,” he said. “The paling’s sound again. It won’t trouble us further.”

“I’m glad.”

“So am I.”

They stood a moment, the silence unhurried.

“You took care of business in the house,” he said.

“Yes.”

He did not ask why. He did not ask with whom.

“I thought so,” he said simply.

She considered him, the ease with which he accepted the answer. “You didn’t come looking.”

“No,” he said. “You didn’t need it.”

Something in her chest eased at that.

“They’ll speak differently now,” she said, more to the air than to him.

He tied off the twine and wiped his hands on a cloth. “They already do.”

She looked at him. “You’ve noticed.”

“I notice things,” he said mildly.

“Yes,” she said. “You do.”

He hesitated, then added, “You were always meant to be listened to.”

There was no flattery in it. No declaration. Only statement.