Page 56 of The Duchess and the Beast
“Sebastian, the monster,” Virtue scoffed, shaking her head. “The beast who lured villagers to his home and devoured them. I suppose you never did uncover that fabled torture chamber, did you?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Still searching.”
Virtue chuckled lightly, a soft, knowing smile playing on her lips. “You know, he is nothing like the stories paint him. True, he might play into those fearsome tales now and then—but that is not the man he is.” She spoke as if trying to convince Lucy. “He is kind, sweet and caring.”
“With a temper to rival Zeus,” Lucy mumbled under her breath.
Virtue just smiled at that. “What is life without passion? Certainly not one I would care to live.”
In the end, the two women decided on a walk through the gardens. They were almost complete now, as verdant as they were colorful as they were wondrous. Fluffy green grass spread in every direction. Blooming flower beds at every corner. Shrubs that ran like walls and made small mazes to walk through. Elm trees also, stone pathways, statues, fountains, everything that a garden should be.
“It really has come along, hasn’t it?” Lucy started the conversation, as Virtue was in her own head as they walked. It was for that reason that Virtue did not respond immediately.
Her mind was elsewhere, on Sebastian. This garden was for him, after all. In a way, it had been this garden which brought them together in the first place. Hours spent here as they instructed the gardeners what to plant and how to plot. Hours spent slowly working at Sebastian’s rough edges, smoothing them away, revealing the beauty underneath. When he returned, Virtue decided, they would need a new project. Something inside the castle this time, for it was in desperate need of a new—
“V!” Lucy's sharp call jolted her from her reverie.
“Hmm?” Virtue turned about to find Lucy glaring at her. “Is something the matter?”
“What do you think?”
Virtue grimaced. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I am just...” She sighed wistfully.
“Oh, I know what you are.” Lucy arched a brow, a hint of amusement in her voice.
“And, pray, what am I?”
Lucy snorted. “Do I need to say it?”
“I think you better.”
A rolling of the eyes followed. “You are in love, Virtue. Although I would think that was rather obvious by now.”
Virtue frowned at that comment, leaning back a little as if taken aback by it. Inlove? Is that what this was? Truly, she had not yet considered it, for love was something that she had read of but never dreamed she might be lucky enough to experience. The concept had been but a fantastical idea reserved for the pages of the novels she devoured—tales of princesses swept away by dashing princes. It was a realm she never envisaged herself reaching.
Now that her maid had voiced the thought aloud, however, and now that Virtue started to think... it made too much sense to simply deny. The emotions that had besieged her throughout the day, the profound yearning for Sebastian’s presence though he had departed merely a day prior—could this truly be love? A man she once viewed with fear, now the very one she found herself incomplete without—was this not what the poets described?
“Oh, I don’t know about that...” She attempted to dismiss the idea with a wave of her hand, but the unmistakable blush that colored her cheeks, as vivid as the roses they passed, betrayed her inner turmoil.
“Whatever you say,” Lucy giggled.
Virtue spent the rest of the day contemplating the notion her maid had sparked. And the more she thought, the more apparent it became. By the time the early evening hues painted the sky, she was irrevocably convinced of her love for Sebastian.Yet, this newfound certainty ushered in a fresh wave of fear in her: what if she loved him but he did not love her in return?
It was fortunate then that a perfect distraction arrived at about this same hour. She was nestled among the tomes of the library, engrossed in one of her cherished volumes, when Lucy appeared at the doorway, carrying a tray.
“Look what I have,” Lucy beamed as she came to her side.
“Oh,” Virtue responded, setting her book aside and offering a smile in return. “A clairvoyant. I was just thinking that some tea would be perfect! What blend have you brought?”
“I haven’t the faintest!” Lucy exclaimed with a playful shrug.
Virtue arched an eyebrow, her gaze settling on the steaming pot. “And how did that come to pass? Did you prepare it with your eyes closed and your nostrils stuffed?”
Lucy laughed. “No, silly. I thought to surprise you. The package that His Grace ordered from London—the exotic teas from China—it arrived just an hour ago.”
“What?!” Virtue's interest was immediately piqued, and she sat up a little straighter. “Why did you not mention this to me sooner?”
“I am telling you now,” the maid replied, setting the tray down gracefully before Virtue and beginning to pour the tea into a delicate saucer. “It was rather peculiar, though.”