6. Chapter 6
It wasn’t that dukes weren’t allowed to get dirty.
They were. They were allowed to do whatever they pleased.
But for his entire adult life, Thomas hadn’t been truly dirty.
He’d never had an opportunity for it. As he ran the palm of his hand across the bumpy soil, he recalled his youth.
There had been time and plenty to play in the dirt.
He grabbed hold of the nearest weed and pulled at it until the leaves snapped off.
He set them in the small pile of weeds he was forming.
“What do you think you’re doing, Tom?” Jack’s voice made Thomas jump.
“I’m pulling the weeds, like you asked.”
Jack’s pinched his lips between his teeth and tried not to laugh. “Call me a salmon! Mrs. Bitters must have it out for me. You’ve never weeded before, have you?”
Thomas motioned to his pile of weeds. “I found a weed, I pulled it. You said to pull weeds.”
“You’re not wrong.” Jack knelt beside Thomas. “You see that small spade in the bucket? Would you hand it to me?”
Thomas did as he was asked, feeling like a child more than a grown man of five and twenty.
“Pulling at the tops of weeds doesn’t make ’em go away. You gotta dig down and pull out the roots.” Jack showed Thomas how to loosen the root from the soil and pull it out. The root was longer than Thomas expected it to be—far larger than the weed itself.
“Of course it’s harder than I expected,” he grumbled. Everything he learned seemed to be following the same pattern.
Jack grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t like weeding at all. If you can get the hang of it, you’re welcome to spend as much of your time as you’d like out here. The head gardener’s wife is ill, and I’m mostly just trying to make sure the place doesn’t go to rot while he’s gone.”
Thomas took a deep breath. This was the type of work he was looking for. Something outside, where the occupants of the house couldn’t look at him. He needed to stay far away from Lady Lavender. “I’ll figure it out. It seems like the type of job an assistant would do.”
Jack sat on the ground and leaned back so that the sun hit his youthful face. “Bless Mrs. Bitters. I’m free from searching around for weeds like everyone about town is searching for the lost duke.”
“The lost duke?” Thomas felt a stone drop into the pit of his stomach.
“Yeah.” Jack shrugged.
Thomas made sure to keep his face turned toward the dirt. “How does a duke get lost?”
Jack shrugged. “No one knows. That’s what keeps ’em all talking. Funny how people can run their mouths for hours about something that’s a mystery.”
Thomas grinned, equally pleased with his successful disappearance as he was with this new information.
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have your own servant, Tom? I have. I’ve been one my whole life, and now I have you. Like an answer to prayer.” Jack looked up toward the heavens and pressed his palms together as if in supplication. His mock solemnity made Thomas scoff.
“Assistant, not servant.”
“Shhh . . . Just let me pretend for a moment.” Jack closed his eyes and smiled so wide, the gap between his teeth was clearly visible.
Thomas flicked some dirt onto the boy’s face and then busied himself with digging for a weed . . . with its root attached this time.
Jack laughed. He seemed to do a lot of laughing. It would have been easier to join in if it hadn’t been at Thomas’s expense. But he’d stick it out and earn that hat from Samuel, if nothing else.
Jack left Thomas to his weeding, a task he was doing more efficiently now that he’d been taught.
After working until his lower back ached, Thomas wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
A small giggle came from behind a nearby shrub.
Thomas set down his small shovel and tried to see who might be there, but the garden seemed empty.
He shook his head and grabbed for the shovel again, but the shovel was gone.
A small face poked out from behind Thomas’s legs. “There’s dirt on your face.”
How had the child gotten behind him without his knowing? “I’m sure you are correct. I must look like a pig rolling around in the mud.”
The little boy laughed. “You’re silly, just like Jack. Where is he?”
“Who? Jack?”
The boy nodded.
“I have no idea. Where do you usually find him?”
“Out here, or with the horses.”
That was good information for Thomas. “Would you like me to find him?”
“What’s your name?” the young boy asked.
Thomas grinned wide. “I’m Tom. I’m Jack’s helper.”
“I want to be Jack’s helper, too.” The boy stuck out his chest. He was so small.
“Where is your nursemaid?” Thomas asked.
The boy’s chest deflated, and his shoulders sagged. “She’s playing dolls with Juliet. I hate playing dolls.”
“She’s going to be worried when she doesn’t know where you are.”
His face fell even further.
“Would you like me to escort you back inside so you might tell her what we are doing?”
“What are we doing?” he asked, confused.
Thomas knelt down. “We are preparing the garden for some important visitors.”
“Is it Lady Lavender? I like her. I’ll help to make her happy.”
Thomas hadn’t precisely been making the garden beautiful for a specific person.
But now that this boy brought her up, he admitted it was more motivating knowing he was making the garden lovely for her sake.
Thomas only hoped she wouldn’t see him doing so, or at all, actually let alone in his dirty state.
Not even a day, and the lovely Lady Lavender had wound her spell around the young boy just as she had with Thomas himself.
“What is your name?”
“I’m Daniel.”
Thomas bowed low. “It’s nice to meet you, Daniel. Now, let’s go tell your nursemaid that you would like to spend some time in the garden with me. I can keep an eye on you so she doesn’t worry.”
Daniel nodded his head with a bit of dejection. “If I have to.”
They walked to the back of the house and stepped inside. “I’ll wait here for you. You can always have your nurse come down here to speak with me if she needs to.”
Daniel scampered out of the room and Thomas sat down on the wooden bench next to the kitchen table. He stretched out his legs and twisted his torso, working out some tight spots in his back. Before long, he heard Daniel’s small steps coming back down the corridor, and Thomas stood back up.
“I’ve got her,” he cried in triumph, tugging none other than Lady Lavender along behind him.
Thomas felt his ears go red. He bowed. “Lady Lavender, what an honor.” Then he stooped to look at Daniel. “I thought you were going to fetch Nurse Bonnie. The garden may not be ready yet for Lady Lavender.”
“Oh, I forgot.” His eyes went wide. “We don’t want you to come yet.”
Lady Lavender looked a little relieved. “That’s alright, Daniel. I’ll come visit the garden later on.”
“The garden might not be in perfect shape, but we would welcome your presence all the same,” Thomas blurted out before he could stop himself.
She fidgeted with the hem of her extraordinarily long white gloves that went up past her elbows, chewing on her bottom lip.
Daniel took her hand. “Please come, I want to show you my pet lion.”
Lady Lavender nodded and smiled. “Of course I’ll come.”
She stepped up beside Thomas and looked him over. “Do you spend a lot of time in the garden?”
He recalled that his face was covered in dirt and dropped his gaze. “I intend to.”
She nodded once and stuck her hand into a small hidden pocket of her dress.
She produced a tiny vial filled with pale pink liquid.
“I quite enjoy spending time out of doors, but I have very strong reactions to bee stings. This is a special concoction of rose water. If I am stung by a bee, it is imperative that someone helps me get this on the sting as soon as possible. I have one on my person at all times.”
He’d heard of people dying from bee stings. It wasn’t often, but it happened. “Are you sure you ought to join us outside?”
She stood a little taller. “I try not to live in fear. Besides, Daniel wants me to come with him—I’m not going to disappoint the little boy.”
“Do you visit here often?” Thomas felt a pull to learn all about this fascinating woman.
“No, this is the first time I have been in residence here. My elder sister is married to the duchess’s brother. Miriam and Rose are the best of friends. It is because of that friendship that Her Grace has agreed to sponsor me this Season.”
Thomas held the door open for her and they walked out into the sunny afternoon. “And how long do you intend to stay?”
Lady Lavender gave him a long, curious look. “Until I marry, I suppose.” She walked ahead of him but turned back. “You speak quite freely for a gardener.”
“Oh, I’m not always a gardener.”
“Yes, I know. It was you who greeted me upon my arrival. Was it not?”
Although Thomas had changed out of his livery for the task of gardening, he was apparently still memorable to her. Probably because of what a spectacle he’d made of himself fawning over her. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, that was me.” He prayed she couldn’t see his flush from under his hat.
“It is only that most people don’t pay particular attention to me. It was nice being noticed upon my arrival.” Her cheeks flushed a most becoming shade of pink. “Forgive me, I did not catch your name.”
“It’s Tom, my lady.” How could anyone forget her presence?
No, certainly she said as much to put him at ease.
Thomas looked down at his hands, covered in dirt, and wished he could present to her his usual charming self.
But this was for the best. He needed to keep his distance from her, and his status of servant was the perfect excuse to hide behind.