The Price of Forgetting

Chapter 15

The garden party was the start of a very busy few weeks. It seemed that every day, there was something to do or somewhere to go. Lily took me shopping, to friends' houses for visits, and to other gatherings. Matthew visited every few days and usually had something planned for us to do together. The surprising thing, though, was that I had engagements without either of them. I'd gone driving with Jonas and Edward, and a couple of other men I'd met had come to see me or sent flowers. Adelaide, a particularly sweet friend of Lily's had even invited me to join her on a shopping trip one day and over for tea another, when Lily was occupied.

It was all very tiring, but also quite a bit of fun. I knew this was a different sort life than the one I'd had at home and I wondered if I'd felt deprived before. Had I been completely content with the simple pleasures of the country or did I always wish for these sorts of social interactions? Maybe I couldn't miss them since I'd never experienced them.

Busy as things could be, I also tried to do something helpful every day. I knew my efforts were fairly insignificant considering the size of the house and property and the number of servants to tend to it all, but I didn't want to take the Graham's kindness for granted by simply existing without doing anything to contribute. Besides, I didn't like being idle.

Today I was assisting the gardener as he transported flowers from their small pots to the earth around a large fountain. It was relaxing work. I didn't love being in the dirt, but there was something almost therapeutic about the process.

After I'd been at it for an hour or so, a shadow fell over me. "I hope they aren't working you too hard. Just imagine the talk if people discovered that the Grahams put their guests to work."

I squinted up at a smiling Theo and laughed. "Have you ever tried gardening? It's actually pretty enjoyable."

"Oh yes, I've tried," he said. "I was always shooed away...within an inch of my life. Apparently helpers are more welcome when they happen to be pretty girls."

I laughed again, finding it hard to believe that any of the servants had ever seriously reprimanded him.

"Begging your pardon, Sir," Amos, the gardener said from a few feet away where he worked. "But digging holes wherever it strikes your fancy, is not gardening."

On second thought, Amos might have managed to thwart Theo from time to time. He didn't tolerate nonsense. He was very good at his job and apparently wasn't worried about offending anyone by being blunt.

"You could have taken advantage of my willingness to work and planted things where I dug the holes," Theo suggested.

"If I recall, your favorite places to dig were in the middle of existing arrangements."

"Of course! That's the best place to look for treasure. Everyone knows a competent pirate would never leave valuables out in the open, where anyone would think to look. It would need a disguise."

Amos sighed and shook his head as he continued to work. I tried not to laugh again.

"You were looking for buried treasure?" I asked.

"Sometimes bugs or frogs," he said. "But mostly treasure."

At the mention of bugs, I felt the need to make sure none were near me. I quickly examined the ground and brushed off my hands and skirt for good measure. Satisfied for the moment, I looked up again. "Are there any large bodies of water around here?"

"Just the pond." Theo smirked.

"Where would the pirates have come from?"

"You know, I never really thought about that part."