A Duke's Garden of Love: A Historical Regency Romance Book Read online

  Mr. Horace Filbert was the man who rented them the shop. His family came from money. A great deal of it. He had set his eyes upon Rosamund and made her his choice of a bride. But he also rented tenements and other shops, and Rosamund was always wondering if he might, one day, decide another patron was a better option than she was.

  She hoped he would.

  But Rosamund sat and politely listened to Mr. Filbert as he rambled on and on about whatever he considered to be important and entertaining, even if it meant nothing to her at all.

  “Those daft tenants of mine. Sometimes I cannot understand why they would rent if they cannot pay their bills?” he asked with a laugh.

  Indeed, Rosamund could not stand this pig-headed and pig-faced man who laughed at the suffering of others. Whatever his motivation for his work and for having such high rates, it was clear that he was full of glee in the suffering of others. Rosamund found it utterly abhorrent.

  “Miss Fleet, I must ask if you have given any thought to setting the date for our wedding?” he asked as a bit of gravy dribbled down his chin from the bread he was eating.

  Rosamund did not at once answer, for she was so disgusted by him that it took her a moment to recover herself.

  “Oh…yes. Um…I believe we ought to choose a date in the spring,” she said.

  “The spring?” he asked, appalled.

  “Yes, for the sake of the flowers being…ready to sprout,” she said.

  “Yes, but…but that is ten months from now. Surely you do not wish to wait such a long time,” he said, clearly bothered.

  Her father was shaking his head, nearly imperceptibly. Her aunt was looking at her with insistence, silently reminding Rosamund that she had to be kind and polite. She could not allow her true feelings to overwhelm her when this man was her family’s only hope of becoming free and independent of their financial constraints.

  “Yes, it is just that…well, I thought it would be a nice season for a wedding,” she said.

  “But surely you do not wish to wait for such a long time. By spring…by spring we may not even like one another anymore,” he said, laughing once more in that haughty tone which betrayed a true concern.

  “That would be such a shame,” Rosamund said. It was the only thing she could think to say to him, even though she wanted desperately to tell him that she could not stand him and wished that he would be gone from her life forever.

  But she remained calm and polite, showing a sweetness that was masking her secret bitterness.

  For her father, she could do this. She had no other choice.

  Chapter 5

  Albion was enjoying a leisurely walk through the gardens. It had been nearly a week since he had hired Miss Fleet to take on the responsibility of bringing his plants back to life.

  Thus far, things were already improving. The roses were getting more and more beautiful by the day. In fact, he thought they looked better than they ever had.

  Then again, perhaps he was simply lying to himself. In fact, it was not possible that they had. They were still missing so many blooms that it was a fallacy and he knew it. They were not so beautiful; only the young woman who was looking after them was beautiful.

  But he started to think about his family. As usual, walking through the gardens only left him with more and more memories. As he wandered, he started to think about the life that he had chosen.

  Alone.

  Deciding that he would live on his own, perfectly isolated, had not been an easy decision to make. But, in many ways, it was natural. It was the only way that he could be certain that he would never lose anyone again.

  Still, the young woman, the one who was related to his only friend, had sparked a sudden interest.

  For some strange reason, he was wondering whether or not he could be the sort of man who would in fact marry.

  Although he believed himself foolish for even thinking about it, he wondered if maybe he had been foolish all this time to not think about it.

  Was it not natural to want companionship? Wasn’t isolation an unusual choice?

  Whatever the answer, Albion felt a surge of cruel hope. It was the sort of hope that could so swiftly be taken from him again.

  He leaned in and took a sniff of the rose blossoms. Had they always smelled this good? Or had that also been a benefit of the work done by Miss Fleet?

  He didn’t know. But he thought he could take a guess. He thought he could give her credit for nearly anything.

  And why not? Why not allow himself to believe that everything she touched was marvellous?

  Perhaps it was because of his sudden realisation of his loneliness that he was crediting her with these things.

  Regardless, Albion knew he could not let himself hope for more.

  As he was pondering all of this, he heard the sound of people approaching.

  Was it them? It had to be. It had to be the young woman he could not stop thinking about.

  Swiftly and with the urgency, he rushed back inside. As the coach drew nearer to the home, Albion slipped inside the side door of the estate and tried to quickly reach the study.

  If he could get there, no one would be the wiser of the fact of his strange and sudden escape.

  Although his entire staff knew that he was a man who had chosen isolation, he recognised that it was probably strange to them. Of course they would think him odd for wanting this.

  But he did not wish for Theodore to know how silly it was for him to run off. He feared that his butler would judge him for this nonsense, and think that he was even more foolish than he already knew him to be.

  Albion disliked the fact that his behaviour was so childish. But he couldn’t help fearing the presence of a new person when he had spent the past few years telling himself that trusting someone new was a dangerous thing. He had convinced himself that anyone he allowed into his life was sure to die.

  Unfortunately, as he stepped through the door to the study, there was Theodore.

  “Oh!” he gasped.

  Theodore froze, looking at Albion as if he was a madman for rushing into the study in such a strange state.

  “What exactly is going on?” Theodore asked, confused.

  “I…I needed to come here,” Albion said.

  “You ran in from the gardens in quite a rush. I heard the coach. Were you frightened by something?” Theodore asked.

  He had been caught. Theodore had seen his unique and rather embarrassing departure from the garden. He clearly recognised the fact that Albion was anxious. And that left him even more embarrassed.

  He had not been afraid, necessarily. Just…eager to avoid facing the struggles of his heart.

  “All right, you can see that there is more to it than that. But you know how I am. I prefer to know only those who are already in my life,” he said, simply.

  The narrowing of Theodore’s eyes was enough to tell him that his butler was bothered.

  It seemed as though Theodore did not like the secrecy; that he disapproved of it.

  But what could he do? Was he supposed to go out and reveal himself now? After having taken such care to be private, he felt foolish to do anything different.

  “Yes, I know that you prefer it that way. And I understand that you have experienced more loss in these past years than most people do in a decade, but it is a shame for you to miss out on the friendships and relationships that you could have if you just put forth a bit of effort to step out of that discomfort you feel,” Theodore said.

  “It is not so simple, Theodore. You know that,” Albion said. Then, frustrated, he continued. “I know that it appears as if I am actively trying to avoid meeting new people and that is not the truth. I am anxious before I meet them, but I know that it is inevitable.”

  “Then why are you sneaking away?” Theodore asked.

  Albion paused, trying to think of how he could best explain it. Finally, he thought he knew what to say.

  “It is not a fear of having other people in my life. It is a fear of not be
ing alone. It is a discomfort in knowing that I can control things if I am on my own, but I cannot control them if I am surrounded by others,” Albion said.

  Theodore shook his head.

  “I understand that, but I cannot condone it. Regardless, it is your decision and not mine. But, if you will, consider that your life would be so different—and far happier—if you were surrounded by something other than your grief,” he said.

  “Which is why I have chosen to surround myself with the beauty of these flowers. They are not grief. They are joy,” Albion said.

  “But they are reminders of your grief. Think of meeting new people not as vulnerability, but as an opportunity,” Theodore said.

  An opportunity? He struggled to think of it that way.

  Rather than an opportunity, it was a frightening idea. He didn’t want to open that door, even if he was curious about it.

  Instead, Albion simply watched Miss Fleet throughout the day again. Just as before, he would look out of the window and observe her.

  Observing her was easier now than it had been those first few days. Before, he thought himself strange for it. But now, he felt that there was a reason. He did not see any harm in trying to learn more about this young woman. Not only that, but he still told himself that it was necessary as her employer.

  Whatever it was about her, he didn’t think he was going to recover quickly. His curiosity was too deep.

  Yes, a part of him wanted to know her. But the part of him that was anxious of that was stronger.

  So, for now, he would watch.

  As the day moved on, he considered Theodore’s words again. Was he making a mistake? Could he possibly have the same joy in interacting with others that most men and women had?

  It was curious, how he had ended up so determined to hide himself away. There had been a time in which he had lived a full and vibrant life. But that seemed like an eternity ago. In times past he had enjoyed interacting with others, but now he was withdrawn in such a way that he felt imprisoned.

  Would he ever overcome his desperation for solitude? Did he even want to? It was all too confusing, trying to discern what was fear and what was a genuine reason for wanting to be on his own.

  Sometimes, he questioned it. He hated to question it, however. Not wanting to believe that he had legitimate reasoning was difficult, but Albion knew that he was simply coming up with excuses.

  He was good at that, wasn’t he? He had been making excuses for a very long time.

  But maybe if he allowed himself to get closer to Theodore first, he would begin to have a hope for getting closer to others as well. After all, Theodore was easy to get along with and they really did care for one another as good friends.

  Later that day, he decided to begin his attempt.

  “Theodore,” he began.

  “Yes?”

  “I am curious about something. I do hope that you are not bothered by my prying,” he said.

  “Prying? Prying into what?” Theodore asked.

  “I was wondering if there is a woman in your life. Is there a young lady who has enraptured you?” Albion asked.

  Theodore did not respond immediately, looking as though he needed to consider the question first.

  “That is quite a personal question,” Theodore said, laughing to himself.

  “Is it? I apologise if I am too forward in asking. Only, I have not heard you speak of anyone before and I wondered if, perhaps, there is anyone in your life,” he said, reiterating the question.

  “Well, I appreciate the interest. And, as it happens, there is a young lady whom I have only just met,” he said.

  “Really? Tell me more about her,” Albion urged.

  Theodore smiled and straightened his spine as if he was trying to impress her even from within the walls of the study.

  “Well, I have met her only twice. The first time was when I went to retrieve my cousin and the second was just three days ago when I was in town. But it was quite wonderful to bump into her then, so unexpectedly,” Theodore shared.

  “That is quite an exciting thing. And the first time, was she a customer of Miss Fleet?” Albion asked.

  “No, actually, she is a very dear friend of Miss Fleet. I had not met her until that day, but now I find that I am rather enraptured by her. Even having had only two brief meetings, she is truly an intrigue,” Theodore said.

  “Very well! I am glad to hear that. And do you have intentions to speak with the young woman about a possible future?” Albion asked, rather enjoying this moment of getting to know one another.

  Theodore shrugged and the corner of his mouth twitched.

  “I hardly know her as of yet. But I do hope that we shall have more opportunities to speak with one another. Certainly with Rosamund’s assistance,” he said.

  “Yes, that would be helpful,” Albion said.

  But he was then left with another question.

  “And what of Miss Fleet? Has she a gentleman caller?” he asked, strangely hoping that the answer would be no, although he understood that he had no reason or right to wish for that.

  “Yes, she does. She is engaged to be married to a landowner. He is a wealthy man from all I have heard, but there are those in the family who do not care for him,” Theodore said.

  Albion didn’t like the sound of that at all. But he recognised the ridiculous nature of his care. It sounded as though his gardener cared more for marrying a man with money than with character, but why should he judge her? He did not know her.

  Instead, Albion took it to be a good thing that he had not tried to get to know her as of yet. After all, if she was the sort who wanted these things, she was not worth his own interest.

  Chapter 6

  With the roses pruned back, Rosamund knew that she could truly start to fix the black spot to ensure that it did not spread.

  It was one thing to bring an end to the buds that had already been touched, but now she had to make sure that no more were affected.

  She had brought large chunks of mulch with her that day. Little by little, she started to spread it around the base of the bushes. It was one method which she knew for preventing the mould from growing.

  Over the past week and a half of coming to the estate, she had learned quite a bit. She had learned that her strategies were, indeed, the best.

  Already, Rosamund had seen a good deal of improvement. She had not known whether or not it would be swift, because she had not often had to put these things into practice. After all, the majority of those for whom she had worked had never been able to get their gardens to this magnificent place.

  No, indeed, this was quite extraordinary. Most of them had not ever dreamt of creating something so beautiful.

  But Rosamund did not have everything that she needed. There were still a few pieces of equipment that would be helpful and she needed to ask if she could borrow them from the estate. After all, there had been a gardener in the past. Surely they had everything she would need.

  Rosamund was not certain where Theodore would be. But she knew that he had to be somewhere nearby in the estate. After all, he was always there. It was so rare for him to leave.