Page 33 of A Botanist and A Betrothal (Gentleman Scholars #4)
D earest Adriana,
I suppose I ought to be more polite and call you My Lady Beaverbrook but who has time for such nonsense?
I hope this letter finds you well. I'm still quite exhausted from all the wedding festivities, but I had to write to share my observations while they're fresh in my mind. Our dear Doctor Welby and his bride made such a handsome couple – though I must say Lincoln looked rather distracted during the ceremony. Sean tells me the man was mentally cataloging all the botanical specimens in the church decorations!
However, his attention was completely fixed on Vesta when she walked down the aisle. I don't think I've ever seen a man's face transform quite like that. All his scientific detachment melted away in an instant. Your husband won quite a tidy sum in the wager about whether Lincoln would cry. (Though really, my dear, the scholars shouldn't be betting at weddings!)
You'll be pleased to hear that Vesta's mother attended, looking remarkably well. The way she embraced her daughter after the ceremony brought tears to many eyes. Even Mr. Caldwell seemed moved, though he quickly covered it by loudly discussing the profitable implications of having a monastery's ancient physic garden on his property.
Speaking of which – I so wish that brilliant young woman you’ve told us about at Oxford, Faith Somerton, could have attended. Vesta is quite eager to correspond with her about the monastic records. They're convinced there's a connection between the monks' mysterious soil preparation techniques and that poem Greta has introduced to all of us. I do hope you'll invite them both to stay with you once they begin their research together.
Lord Jasper Linwood made an appearance, though he spent most of his time scribbling calculations on the notebook he kept shoving in his pocket whenever anyone reprimanded him for his rudeness. Something about a steam-powered apparatus that's giving him trouble. Perhaps we should introduce him to Miss Somerton? A young lady studying ancient manuscripts might be just what he needs to distract him from his troublesome invention.
The happy couple left for their wedding trip to Kew Gardens – trust Lincoln to choose a botanical garden for his honeymoon! Though Vesta seemed equally delighted by the prospect. They truly are perfectly matched.
Roderick says he's never seen Lincoln so content. The threat of arrest is completely behind him now, his research is being lauded by the Royal Society, and he has a wife who shares his passion for scientific discovery. They're already planning expeditions to investigate other former monastery gardens across England.
We so wished you could have been in attendance but I understood you didn’t wish to leave all your charges behind and I cannot fathom trying to travel with your six girls! It will soon be time for all of us to be expanding our families although it seems to me yours is already bursting at the seams.
Do write soon and tell me how you go on.
Your dear friend, Evangeline
P.S. I've enclosed a pressed flower from the wedding decorations. Vesta assured me it's a descendant of the monks' original plantings. She says its unusual coloring is due to their special soil preparation – though how she can tell that from a flower, I'm sure I don't know!
The End
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Want to read about the next scholar’s efforts at finding the treasure and running into relationship woes along the way?
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Read about Roderick, his brothers, and their friends in the Northcott Kinship series.
An introductory novella:
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Book One:
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