Page 42 of My Ruthless Duke

Chapter 20

“Oh, by Jove, Cordelia! You have done all of this by yourself?” Penelope gasped as she stepped into Cordelia’s greenhouse, her neck craning as she looked this way and that.

“Oh, that is exactly the reaction that I had been hoping for!” Cordelia said with a happy clap. “I have been working on finishing it for over a week now just to make sure that everything is exactly where it needs to be.”

“Your hard work has certainly paid off!” Eleanor continued as they moved further into the room.

Cordelia stopped by the doors of the greenhouse, watching her dear friends move into the transformed space. She had not yet been able to replace all of the glass ceiling panels, but everything else felt almost renewed. All of the rust and tarnish had been scrubbed from the brass fixtures, and the spiral staircase to the back of the greenhouse that led up to the second floor wasreplaced. She wished to fill the whole place with flowers from everywhere that she could think of. She had managed to pot and fill so many different variations as it was!

In the main part of the greenhouse, positioned around the massive tree that dominated the space, was a small collection of tea carts and circular tables. Each was decorated to reflect a different flower and color scheme while the tea carts were covered in aromatic blends of tea and steaming pots of water, along with various finger foods. She had wanted to go all out for her dear friends and the looks of shock and awe on their faces was everything that she had wanted.

“Please, feel free to look around as you see fit. Careful with the orchids in the back, they have been a little sensitive lately. Tea?” Cordelia offered helpfully and moved to sit at one of the tables herself. Matilde stepped forward right away to start placing biscuits and small sandwiches on a plate for Cordelia as well as poured her a floral blended tea that put her right at ease. Which was good, because Cordelia was starting to speak a touch too quickly, allowing herself to become flustered.

“I simply do not know how you have turned this old place into… this…” Mary gushed as she sat down beside Cordelia. “Of course, I saw you hurrying in and out every day, hem soaked in mud, and I had not wished to distract you, but I will not deny being powerfully curious!”

“I know that my hands-on approach is not always appropriate, but I cannot deny the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from a hard job well done,” Cordelia answered asshe sipped her tea. If only her mother could have been able to be here to see it. While Lavinia never seemed to care much about what Cordelia planted, or the names of flowers, she was always there to listen and nod along. It had been a very hard choice not to invite her, but she did not wish to make her friends uncomfortable and she knew how Lavinia had come to be whenever she was feeling as if she were not the center of attention at all times. Perhaps it was simply her being a bad daughter, or selfish, but she did not wish to have this greenhouse tainted with any more negative memories. Not when she had worked so hard to turn it back into something of a respite.

Maybe, just maybe, someday Dorian would be willing to come in here with her and feel happy, instead of consumed by the bad things that had happened to him in his past.

“I do not care what is, or is not fashionable when this is the result! I have never seen so many colors in one place before!” Eleanor answered before taking her seat and pulling a pastry toward herself. “What does your husband think of all of this?”

Mary and Cordelia exchanged glances, and Cordelia shifted the topic with her answer. “Well, I am hoping that when I invite him to join me here, he will be so overwhelmed by the beauty that he will not hear me tell him that I wish to raise my own bees as well.”

“Oh, how exciting! Bees are so pretty.” Marina was the only one to love all animals, even insects.

“Bees!” Penelope shuddered. “Whatever for!”

“To pollinate the flowers of course!”

“You wish to handle them yourself? I cannot handle even thethoughtof them buzzing around me, let alone touching them!”

“Well, there are certainly protective garments to wear.”

Mary snorted. “I beg your pardon; I was merely envisioning the vein in my brother’s neck bulging from stress at the thought of you having bees here.”

“Oh, is he the overprotective sort? How sweet, he does not wish you stung! I cannot blame him,” Penelope added, taking a bite of a strawberry.

“I do not think there is any world where I could be comfortable touching bees!” Eleanor interjected with a soft shudder.

“They are simply misunderstood, is all! They are hard little workers,” Marina continued.

“I have a book about them, should anyone be curious,” said Cordelia.

Mary snorted. “Is that why you were climbing all over the library muttering about horticulture?”

The conversation flowed quickly, all of the women speaking over one another as they added in their thoughts on their favoriteflowers, their own hobbies, and the things that they liked and disliked until the tea carts were nearly empty and the sun was starting to climb lower in the sky. An afternoon absolutely well spent—at least until Eleanor spoke next.

“Oh, how pretty it is going to be when you have a little one of your own running around here. I bet they will have the natural green thumb that you do, Cordelia.”

She meant no harm by the words, of course. Cordelia knew that her friend would never say anything to intentionally hurt her. She also had no idea that the duke had no intention of having children. No, only Mary knew that. But what was the point of keeping pointless secrets? They were her friends, after all.

Cordelia nodded, tracing the rim of her teacup with the pad of her finger. “Dorian does not wish for children, actually.” A small bubble of hope rose in her chest. She could not help it. It was something that she had been thinking about over and over again but did not dare to voice out loud. “Or, well, he did not… I do not know if that was simply because he did not know me all that well yet, or if it is truly because he is opposed to children. I will not deny that I keep hoping the closer that we get…”

Mary shook her head. “Oh! This is my brother you are speaking about! Please, spare my ears the details!”

All women laughed, even as Penelope leaned in closer. “But you are… consummating, right? Would not a child result naturally from laying with your husband?”

Cordelia flushed a deep red; she couldfeelit. “Well, of course, I–”

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