Loving a Fearless Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Book(76)

He entered. “No, thank you, Cara. Please forgive me for dropping in. I heard you came to see me when I was out. I am most anxious to hear how your time with your aunt went.”

“Please have a seat, My Lord. My aunt gave me two plants that should be stronger and show a better result than we’ve seen with lemongrass. She took me into the woods, so I’ll be able to find as much as needed.

“The first is Valerian. It is a strong stress reliever and causes the user to experience calm. The other is Cherry Plum, and it calms vicious rages. It is very strong, and I recommend that if we use it, we are careful of how much we give him. We’ll start low and increase while observing him.”

Edward sat up and asked, “Can they be combined?”

*****

“I pushed her a lot today, so if you want to ask her anything, keep it to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.”

“Seriously, Penelope? She doesn’t talk at all?”

“Edward, she is fully capable of talking, she’s just self-conscious and talking draws attention to oneself.”

Penelope and Edward went into the parlour. Cecilia, Sir Jeffrey, and Mira were all there.

All but Cecilia rose, the ladies curtsied, and the gentlemen bowed. Edward sat next to his mother.

Cecilia smiled at him. “So tell us all, Edward. Has Sir Jeffrey given you a green thumb?

Edward smiled. “Hardly, Mother. If I learned anything today, it was that I have a lot to learn.”

*****

“That’s a good start, my boy.”

Edward turned to Cecilia; we’ll go out again tomorrow after Sir Jeffrey shows me his plans. If we missed anything today, we’ll be sure to catch it tomorrow.”

Cecilia looked up. “Edward, I don’t want you to take on too much all at once. I went to the village today to visit with some of my old friends. The main street, the cottages, everything looks so much better. The villagers are pleased at the attention to their needs. You’ve done so much in such a short time. Pace yourself, so you don’t wear yourself out.”

Edward rolled his eyes, “Yes, Mother.”

“If I may, Lady Cecilia,” Sir Jeffrey said, “I have recommended planting on one field every year. Each field has its own personality if you will, and Edward will need to learn them all to match the land with the crop. It takes time.”

“Enough about crops,” Edward said. “Did you ladies have a nice day?”

Penelope answered, “Yes.” She looked at Mira.

Mira answered, “Yes,” barely audible, but she spoke.

Edward looked at her and smiled in encouragement. She really was a cute, little thing. He hoped she would be able to make some progress. If anyone could help build her self-confidence, it was Penelope.

After a week of consulting, Sir Jeffrey left for London. Edward was left with a list of jobs to do, courtesy of Sir Jeffrey. He was focused on his work, to the point where he barely noticed anything around him.

He ordered two of the ploughs Sir Jeffrey recommended, and he bought two workhorses for each plough. He was eager to receive this modern equipment. He also ordered seed.

Edward walked the fields with the farmers in the village. So many of the fields were fallow and had been for so long that the farmers were not utilized or were under-utilized. Edward found satisfaction in their newfound excitement.

In the parlour before dinner, Edward would tell the ladies of his day and the progress he made. There was companionable talk amongst them, and Penelope noticed Mira contributed to the conversation more as time went by, and she felt more comfortable. Still, when she was nervous, she stared down at her gloved hands.

“Hey, sis. I saw a few plants I don’t recognize in the woods out back. Can I show them to you?”

Once outside of the house, Penelope turned to Edward, “What am I really doing out here?”

Edward laughed. “Obvious? I want to talk with you about Mira. Now that she is talking, it is clear she’s very nice, she’s interesting, and she’s intelligent.”

“But?” Penelope asked.

“But, what is her problem? I mean, she has a lot going for her, and she should do fine in the marriage mart.”

“Well, first of all, I’m happy you saw through everything to see how nice she is.

“She never takes off her gloves. When she came to tea, she said her hands were disfigured. She said nothing else. Her hands have made her self-conscious which has made her shy. I know nothing else, but I know there is more to the story.”

Edward stopped walking and turned to Penelope. “More to the story? Like what?”

“Like what happened to her hands. Like who did it to her. Like how old was she when her hands were disfigured.”

“You think it was from punishment? Her father, maybe? Not since birth? Well, you’ll get to it, I’m sure.”

Penelope and Mira began to take walks every day, weather permitting. Penelope knew she was making progress with Mira – she talked a little more, unveiling pieces of herself bit by small bit.

Mira reminded Penelope of herself. Self-conscious, afraid to open herself up to others, including Penelope.

“Mira, did you ever hear how I got my scar?”

They were walking on a beautiful stretch of meadow near the river. Penelope could hear the river noisily rushing over the rocks in direct opposition to the quiet where they stood.