Page 65 of A Bluestocking for the Wicked Duke

“What? Why the scrutiny?” Wiliam asked.

“Nothing much, I just heard some things I want clarification over,” she replied.

“What did you hear?”

“I heard from the house’s gossip birds that you have taken an interest in Joane Hardwater, the daughter of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos,”

William wasn’t surprised that she had heard. He didn’t change his expression. He kept staring into her eyes; he knew she was waiting for a reply.

“Is this true?”

“Gosh, whence did you hear this? There is nothing in it.”

William steeled his features as he said that.

She needs to believe me completely.

He saw her stare deep into his eyes; she was trying to burrow out the truth by just looking into his eyes.

“It is a rumour that was bound to arise. The next ball I attended after my duel with her father, Joane was there. Of course I gravitated towards her. She is of immense beauty and the daughter of the man who beat me in swordplay, his use of the dark arts regardless. We struck off well. Conversations were easy to make with her. I did share a dance with her. I think that is the source of all the rumours that have arisen since then,” William said, flinching not once throughout.

Esther held his gaze for a few seconds more before dropping it.

“I wondered how true it could be. I was starting to wonder if you ever had a mind of courting me in the first place.”

His heart lurched when she said that.

“And she is the daughter of a man who almost killed you after cheating you. I was wondering what you could hope to find in such a union,’’ she continued.

William took in a deep breath. She had struck the nail on its head twice on a row. He turned to his side and saw a man attending to one of the topiary figures. Grateful for a change of topic, he spoke.

“Is that your gardener?” he asked her.

Esther looked to the man. She smiled.

“Yes, that’s him. He is about to work on the topiary,” she said.

She grabbed his hand and drew him along as she walked to the man standing beside the rabbit.

“Mr. Alfonsus, how do you do?” she said when they got behind him.

The man turned around to face them. He had a wide smile on his face, showing shapely teeth that were starting to turn yellow. He was as happy to see Esther as she was to see him.

“How do you do?” he replied.

“Are you about reshaping the rabbit figure?” she asked him.

She touched the longer ear and spoke before he could reply.

“I am not sure the other ear is long enough.”

The man bent down to pick his leather handle shears.

“It is. You do not notice because the other one has grown longer too but I’ll lay my blade to it and bring them both down to size. You just wait,” he replied.

William watched as the gardener worked on the leafy figure. Expertly cutting away leaves, twigs and branches that did not fit the shape he wanted, the gardener brought the rabbit shape he wanted out of the thick bush. The ears turned out to be just the right size when he was done cutting them. Esther did not say anything for the period the man worked, neither did William. Both of them were satisfied to watch the man bring out art from a thick congregation of plant parts.

When he was done, Esther clapped and jumped in delight. William wondered if the love for greenery and wildlife didn’t run in the blood. She seemed a very keen lover of topiary too.