Page 41 of Romancing the Heiress
He couldn’t think about any of that right now. If he wasn’t going to wed Genevieve, he needed another solution to his money problem. And he had one.
Except the thought of selling the gardens to Mercer and watching them become a business for profit—and, more importantly, to fill Mercer’s already stuffed coffers—was intolerable. On the other hand, if Phin didn’t have to care for the gardens, he could put his entire focus on Radford Grange and on his own passion for horticulture. But he just couldn’t get past his grandfather’s attachment to the gardens. They were his creation, and he’d be devastated to see them leave the Radford family.
Was there any chance his grandfather might understand?
Groaning, Phin put his hand over his eyes and forehead. He inhaled deeply, savoring the warm, comforting fragrance of flora and dirt.
Then there was another scent. Violets and lavender.
He dropped his hand and saw Leah standing just inside the closed door.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” was all he could think to say. She looked so bloody beautiful, so incredibly welcome. He’d never been happier to see another person ever.
She wore a simple but elegant coral-colored ball gown trimmed with ivory ribbon. A coral-and-blue shawl adorned her shoulders, and her blonde hair was threaded with a ribbon that matched her gown.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” she said softly, glancing about the greenhouse. “Nothing has changed.”
“Not much, no. I confess, I like keeping things as my grandfather left them. It reminds me of him.”
Leah smiled as she moved toward the roses. “I would do the same if he’d been my grandfather.”
“He sort of was, wasn’t he? I mean, we all saw you as our extended family.”
“Did you? That’s nice to hear.” She lowered her head and sniffed the pink damask. “Is this what you’re crossbreeding?”
“That and the China rose.”
She took a step toward that flower and also sampled its fragrance before straightening once more. “I love the silvery pink color. Will your new rose be that color?”
Phin walked toward her, taking up a position on the other side of the rosebushes from her. “Somewhat. I’m hoping it will retain the silvery aspect, but be perhaps a shade darker—closer to the damask.”
“Now you wait for the seeds to develop?”
He nodded. “Then I plant them and hope they take. If I’m lucky, I’ll have blooms this summer.”
“That’s exciting. What will you call it?”
“I hadn’t thought of a name. I don’t think I could until seeing the bloom.Ifit blooms.” He’d tried this before and had experienced all-out failure—no thriving plant and no blooms. He’d also had roses grow and bloom, but they hadn’t looked different from their parents.
“You probably want to know why I’ve come.” She looked at him almost shyly. “I did want to see your work, but that’s not the only reason.”
“Just please tell me you haven’t come to say goodbye again. That was rather devastating. Honestly, it was hard enough the first time when you did it seven years ago.”
Her nostrils flared slightly. “Was it? It was difficult for me—not to leave Marrywell, but to leave you.” Their gazes held for a long moment before she looked back at the China rose. “Anyway, I also came to tell you that Genevieve is going to choose someone else to wed.” Her eyes met his again. “I’m so sorry. I know you needed to marry her. However, there is another option.”
Phin circled around the rosebushes to stand in front of her. “Did Mercer tell you he wants to buy the gardens?”
“Yes. He also asked me to convince you to accept his offer. I said that wasn’t possible, that you would never sell to him.” She took a step closer to him. Her shawl fell off one shoulder, but she didn’t pull it back up. Was she suddenly as warm as he was? “Phin, why didn’t you tell me you were in trouble? What’s happened?”
“It’s too shameful to disclose.” His words were barely a whisper.
“I’ve shared all my secrets with you—and only you. What could be more shameful than the truth of who I really am? A bastard.”
He took her hands in his and squeezed them, staring earnestly into her eyes. “That is not your shame. For your mother to agree to take her husband’s child in only to apparently regret doing so and treat you as she did…that is the real shame. Sometimes I wonder if she didn’t end up punishing you as a result of her anger toward your father.” He paused, trying to decide if he should say the next part. “And you didn’t share all your secrets. You never told me what your mother did, just that she was cruel. I never saw marks on you, so I don’t know if she physically hurt you, but I always worried. I should have asked my grandfather to let you live with us.”
“He actually asked for that once.”
That should not have been a surprise, but Phin had never known. He didn’t think it was possible to love his grandfather more than he already did, but he’d been wrong. “I didn’t know that.”
