Lydia decided she would not say anything to Edwin about her encounter with Caroline. It was not appropriate for her to be involved. So a few days later when the fruit trees arrived, she and Edwin planned to spend the day planting. It was exciting for Lydia to see the trees going into the ground. She intended to water them every day until they were well established and tend to them with great care.

Lydia was at the orchard before Edwin that morning. The trees had been placed, each beside its intended hole, and she was preparing for the planting when she spotted Daniel heading toward her. He looked casually handsome, with no hat—his blond curls high-lit by the sun. Her first thought was that he was going to give her a dressing down because of her conversation with Caroline.

“Good morning, Miss Lydia,” Daniel greeted.

“Mr. Beaufort,” she said, shading her eyes against the morning sun.

He studied the site where the trees were to be planted.

“Most impressive. You are going to have a first class orchard here, are you not?”

“It is our hope.”

“And you are planting today?”

“Quite so,” she said, hoping he would quickly get to the point. Was he going to scold her or not?

Daniel had a strange grin when he said, “My sister told me about your recent conversation.”

“Oh, yes?” Lydia was not going to make this easy for him.

“It sounds to me like you didn’t let her give you any guff. Jolly for you.” He laughed.

That surprised Lydia. “You think that, do you?”

“I do. She thinks she is the princess royal. At times she can be insufferable—and I say that as her loving brother.”

“I hold no animosity toward her,” Lydia stated.

Daniel gathered his thoughts. “Miss Lydia, I did not come here to discuss my sister, but rather to enquire if you might like to join me on a journey to Shrewsbury the evening after tomorrow.”

“Oh?”

“There is to be a traveling opera performing at the Grand Orpheum, and I remembered you told me you had never been. I would like to take you for an early supper and then the performance. Would you grace me with your company?”

This took Lydia by surprise. But it was not unappealing.

“Yes, I will accompany you to the opera. It sounds like a delightful adventure.”

“Excellent. I have use of the family’s carriage and shall call for you at your cottage at five o’clock, as it will take us several hours to get to Shrewsbury. Is that satisfactory?”

“I can be ready by then. Thank you for the offer.”

He nodded and headed back toward the house.

Lydia turned to her work when two of the workers showed up to help with planting the trees.

“Lydia.” She heard her name being called and she turned to see Edwin approaching. “Sorry I am late. It looks like the planting is nicely underway.”

“The workers have helped immensely. There really is no need for you to help this morning. I feel certain the three of us can finish this today.”

“I am sure it can be done. But I am going to ask you to join me. The workers will be able to do the planting without you.”

“But I need to be certain they are planted and watered correctly. The first few days of proper care are crucial to their survival.”

“You will be able to inspect the work later this afternoon. But please, come with me for now,” he said.

Lydia turned to the workers and gave them specific instructions before leaving them to go with Edwin.

“I need your help with the greenhouse. I must place my order for construction materials very soon if I am to get the construction completed before next year.”

“And how can I help you? I have no experience with greenhouses.”

“I need to go over with you what plant materials we want to house eventually. The scope of the collection will determine the size of the greenhouse, and I need your advice on what you think we can manage, keeping the goal of the arboretum in mind.”

They headed to the office and went inside.

Edwin plopped a large volume down on the table and began leafing through the pages.

“Here, can you make notes, please,” he asked. He pointed to a series of tropical ferns. “I have sources that can procure a number of these. How many do you think we will need? I have no idea how fast they grow or how much space they will take up.”

Lydia stopped writing. “Edwin, I think before we start to talk numbers we should have a diagram of the extent of the greenhouse. We need to know our space before we choose our plants. We need dimensions. How high is the ceiling going to be? What are the water sources? Are you going to have ponds and waterfalls in the landscape? I am sure you can see it all in your mind but we need to be exactingly specific.

Edwin stopped his page turning. “Ah, Miss Lydia, once again you humble me with your sensible thinking. Of course, I have hand drawings of what I want but I do need to be more specific, do I not?”

“It seems that a greenhouse on the scale you envision will need an architect to accurately design and build your structure. Then when you know the square footage and the basic design elements of the garden, then we can select and order the plants.”

“Tell me, Miss Lydia, what would I do without your invaluable help?”

“And are there not cost considerations? Have you a budget for this project?”

Lydia stood up and confronted Edwin directly. “Let me suggest that the two of us begin by designing a ground plan of the garden you want in the greenhouse. Then let us select the type of plants you want so we can determine the dimensions of the garden. Then I suggest you submit that to a greenhouse architect—if such a professional exists—and let him draw up preliminary plans and a cost estimate. Then we can move forward with the implementation.”

“How sensible you are.”

“And I would think that is going to take a great deal longer than you might imagine. I am guessing it will take at least a year before you can start construction.”

“Then let us get underway with exactly that scenario.”

“And you might want to consider working on your outdoor gardens in the meantime. There are plenty of opportunities to begin construction on those even during the winter, is there not?”

Edwin’s face lit up. “Let us begin right away on the greenhouse plans together.”

“Yes, we can do that, but I still need to tend to the new orchard and finish my planning for next season’s vegetable garden.”

“Yes, yes, we can do all of that.” Edwin was so excited he went over and grabbed Lydia by the shoulders and pulled her to him and gave her a kiss.”

“Oh,” she said as she reeled backward after.

Edwin realized what he had done in his exuberance and also took a step backward.

“Miss Lydia, forgive me. It was a result of my sudden excitement. I… I… forgive me, please. I went too far.”

Lydia put her hand up to her lips. “Perhaps I became too excited myself. It was just the moment, was it not?”

“Absolutely. Again, please, accept my apologies.”

She nodded. But she was in extreme inner turmoil and said, “Please excuse me. I need a moment.” And she left the office.

Lydia had nowhere to go. But her first thought was to seek out Ellen. She ran to the house and went up to Ellen’s room and knocked.

“Come,” Ellen called out.

Lydia entered and shut the door behind her and leaned against it.

Ellen looked up and was startled at Lydia’s wild look.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Edwin just kissed me,” Lydia said breathlessly.

Ellen laughed. “Oh, is that all? I thought you were injured.”

“Why are you laughing? It is serious.”

Ellen got up from her desk and came over and took Lydia’s hand. “Come, sit with me. It really is not that serious. Tell me exactly what happened.”

Lydia related the incident in broken speech. She was a bit muddled, but she got the gist of the event across. When she was done, she sat with her hands in her lap with eyes lowered.

Ellen was briefly silent. “My dearest, Lydia. It is abundantly clear that you were both caught up in the excitement of discovery and reacted out of joie de vivre. It is nothing which need concern you. I am sure Edwin has forgotten about it already.”

That did not comfort Lydia. “I am sorry to disturb your writing session. I should be getting back to the office. Edwin and I need to continue our work.”

“He can wait. Come—show me what you have been working on in the orchard. And tell me all about your plans for the vegetable garden. I could do with a break, anyway.”

Lydia took Ellen to the orchard and showed her the new fruit trees the workmen were planting. Then she took her to the produce garden.

“It looks rather like it did before. What are you doing here?” Ellen asked.

“Oh, no. Nothing has changed here yet. All the changes come next season. But I promise you some delicious new treats.”

Edwin came out of the office and seeing his sister and Lydia came over to where they were walking the rows and picking at greens to nibble.

“Dearest sister, taking a break?”

“I am. And Lydia is telling me all about the gorgeous new veggies you shall soon be eating—of course, I shall be in London and deprived of these new treats.”

Lydia cast a quick look at Edwin but he was focused on his sister.

“And have you seen the new trees in the orchard?” Edwin asked.

“I have briefly, but it looks like the workmen are still planting. I shall examine them more fully when they are finished,” Ellen said.

“Very well.”

Edwin looked at Lydia, with a sheepish grin. “Would you like to come back to the office? While you were gone I sketched out a floor plan for the greenhouse. I would like your observations on it.” Edwin was being very respectful and kept his head and eyes lowered.

“Yes. The sooner we can finalize the plan, the sooner you will be able to look for your architect.”

“Good-bye, you two,” Ellen said as she headed back toward the house.

Edwin waved, and gestured with his hand to indicate Lydia should go before him.

Back in the office, Edwin shuffled some papers on the table and shook out a large sheet settling it in the middle. He kept his head lowered as he said, “Earlier… Can you forgive me?”

Lydia was not sure how she wanted to reply, but said finally, “I think we can agree it was a mistake and we were both responsible. I ask also for your forgiveness.”

Edwin looked up. “No, Miss Lydia, it was entirely my fault. I got carried away by… by…” He stopped and stared at her. “You utterly enchant me, Lydia. I could not help myself, but I promise it will not happen again.”

“And why not?” Lydia boldly asked. “If you feel that way, why deny your feelings?”

Edwin was stunned. “Does that mean that you feel similarly toward me?”

“Oh, Edwin. Are you so dense as not to know that?” She looked at him directly and with resolve.

He took a step backward and ran his hand through his hair. Then he shook his head. “No, this cannot be. I must marry Miss Caroline. Our families have negotiated and agreed. All that is wanting is my formal proposal. But I have hesitated… because of you. And the conflict is tearing me apart.”

“Why can you not follow your heart?”

Edwin paced, struggling with how to answer. “I should not tell you this, but I feel you deserve to know. My father, before he died, made some investments that tied up a great deal of our capital. And we have only recently discovered that those investments have failed. Everything I wish to do for Honeyfield is in jeopardy, not to mention our very livelihood. Lydia, my dear, I have no choice. I must marry into the Beaufort family. The marriage comes with a great sum of money that will prevent my family from experiencing a catastrophe.”

“Oh, Edwin… I am so sincerely sorry.” She was genuinely concerned for him. She went over and placed her hand on his arm. He then placed his hand on top of hers.

“As am I. Both for my family and for us.”

“But Edwin, we could never have been together. You are a Duke and I am but a modest vicar’s daughter. I have no title, no living. You could never make an alliance with one such as me.”

“Then you do not know me, Lydia. I never cared about such superficial conventions. If it were not for this crisis, I would gladly ask you to be my wife.”

“Oh, Edwin…” She removed her hand from his and stepped backward.

“Forgive me. But I know you are a strong woman, capable of understanding and accepting.”

She nodded.

“If you feel that we can no longer work together, I would understand. And know that you may remain in the cottage as long as you like. I would never force you from your home.”

Lydia then asked, “And how do you feel about us working together? Would you rather I leave?”

Edwin shook his head. “Never. I cannot tell you how much I value your many fine qualities, and you have aided me without measure. If you can find it in yourself to stay, then I beg you to.”

Lydia turned away, went to the office door and stared outside while she considered. Then she turned back to him.

“Yes, Edwin I shall stay. There is still a lot of work to be done here before the end of the season. And I would like to see that completed. However, I will definitely need the break when I go to London with Ellen. And might I request that if you are to marry Miss Caroline, that you do it while I am in London. I would not like to be here for the wedding.”

“But Ellen, I know, will want to be here for that.”

“I could remain in London if she is to travel home—if that is agreeable. I hope you understand.”

“Of course.”

“And then I shall return after. Will you be residing at Honeyfield or at the Albermarsh estate?”

“Why, here, of course. This is where my home is, my work, and…” He could not complete the thought and looked away. “And what of Mr. Daniel, it seems clear to me that he has taken an interest in you. Is that not so?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“And is his interest reciprocated?”

“Oh, Edwin, my heart is not so easily won. As you know, I have already given my heart to you.”

“Lydia, you know we can only be friends and co-workers. Please give Daniel a chance. He is a fine man.”

“He is escorting me to the opera at Shrewsbury the day after tomorrow.”

Edwin nodded. “Excellent. I hope you have an agreeable evening.”

Lydia wanted to leave but lingered. “When shall you announce the engagement to Miss. Caroline?”

“Mother wishes to announce it within the week. We are trying to decide how to do it. Traditionally such an announcement is made at a ball or a large party. However, with our new financial constraints, she is suggesting that the Earl hold an event where the announcement can be made.”

“Then please make certain I am not invited,” Lydia insisted.

“But Ellen will be upset at your absence.”

“Then it will be up to you to explain that to her.”