by Susanne Lord
“Yet you’ve not seen the finest, have you?” Charlotte teased.
He smiled, still scanning the crowd for his heart. “I didn’t expect Minnie to be tardy.”
Charlotte tilted her head and studied him. “Tardy? No, I told our coachman to deliver her late. I wish for Mina to make an entrance.” She smiled at Will. “I no longer make entrances, as Will dislikes to be late. You will learn, Seth. A lady requires significant time to present herself suitably to the world. I have even adjusted my morning toilette so I may breakfast with my husband. But there is no help for it. Will rises at an ungodly hour. I have had to adjust, lest I rush my maid, and I cannot be seen as a dowdy…”
Seth nodded dumbly as Charlotte chatted on. She might be the one person of his acquaintance that could outtalk him.
“…imagine the entrance she will make.” She bounced a little. “Oh, I cannot wait to see her.” Charlotte clapped her gloved hands together, signaling the end of her monologue.
Seth was still nodding but stopped when he saw Will’s amused and knowing grin. “An entrance is it?” He needed to add something to the conversation.
Fine ladies did such things, he supposed, so he’d better get used to that. And he didn’t think getting used to anything Mina did would be any hardship at all.
Will narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his wife. “Charlotte? I know that smile. What did you do?”
She blinked those violet eyes innocently. “I cannot know what you mean. Do you accuse me of something?”
Will held the suspicious look on his wife, and her composure broke in the next second with her smile. “You mustn’t make me confess, Will. At least not in Seth’s hearing.”
Will grinned and pulled Charlotte into his arms. “Whisper your secret to me, then.”
The lady cupped her hand over his ear and confessed, and Will’s smile widened. “That was a wonderful idea, sweetheart. Thank you.”
Charlotte blushed under her husband’s nuzzling kiss, and Seth had to avert his eyes. He might only be a hired explorer from Matlock, but he knew enough to know that sort of public loving wasn’t proper.
And Will and Charlotte weren’t looking as if they were stopping anytime soon.
He cleared his throat loudly, and they broke apart slowly. Damned if he wasn’t envious of all they had. They were in love and had a fine, healthy baby, a home with a library full of books, and not a day’s worry over money. And Charlotte had herself a dress prettier than the daffodils.
“There you young people are.” The grandest lady of his acquaintance, Marchioness Wynston, appeared, her footman trailing her with a small dog in his arms. “I am vastly relieved. No one will persuade me London Society does not grow more tiresome with each passing year.”
Marchioness Wynston was a favorite of his. Great aunt to little Aimee, rich from several dead and devoted husbands and sons. And the bona fide Worst Flirt in England.
They got on like a house on fire.
“I offer every thanks to you, Mr. Mayhew, and you, William, for presenting two examples of masculine beauty for my weary eyes to rest upon. You have salvaged what would otherwise be an excruciating afternoon. I am rather accustomed to William’s brooding beauty, of course, but I am finding the novelty of another handsome explorer today quite delightful. You polish up rather nicely, Mr. Mayhew.”
Seth grinned. “Put on my best, knowing I’d be seeing you, m’lady. You’re looking as splendid as ever.”
“Lies do make the angels weep, young man.” But the grand lady smiled at him under a bonnet of sweeping plumes. “But yes, my chapeau is much admired. One does make an effort, as there is no place so ridiculously fastidious as a London flower show. I only attend today for the auction. I am desperately curious to see how wealthy the cattle make you today.”
His heart stuttered. Wealthy? Damned if “wealthy” wouldn’t be the answer to every one of his problems. “I just hope they’re inclined to buy.”
“Have no fear, young man,” Lady Wynston said. “I see a number who will scrape and claw to prove themselves sufficiently deep of pocket to possess one of your rare plants. I do not even need to turn my head to spy them, which is fortunate, as this fashion for high collars impedes me in every way. I blame the Queen, naturally, and her unfortunate chin, but that is neither here nor there.
“Look there. Elmore is quite the orchid enthusiast. I’ve no doubt he’ll bid on them all. And I shall begrudge him any win, as he is the very devil.” She fanned herself, her eyes sweeping the crowd. “And there is Louisa. How fortunate for you. She will no doubt spend a great amount, though she has no particular interest in the botanical arts.”
“Then why would she?” Seth asked.
“She is one of those creatures who is not happy with her husband, Mr. Mayhew. And has not been going on five and twenty years now, much to the detriment of her husband’s purse. But she is well in the right there—the man is odious.” She hoisted a brow. “And where is your sweetheart that I have yet to meet? Everyone speaks of her with such rapture.”
“I expect Minnie will—”
“Minnie?”
“That’s the name I call her.”
“Minnie? Good heavens, why? I will not call her any such thing.”
He grinned. “I wouldn’t like it if you did, m’lady. That name’s mine alone.”
She fanned herself, looking coyly at him. “How thrillingly possessive. Where is this Wilhelmina?”
“Charlotte says she’s to make an entrance,” he said.
“Ah, naturally,” she murmured approvingly.
“Oh, there she is, by the gate,” Charlotte exclaimed behind him.
He turned, eager for the sight of her.
Only her face and shining hair were visible in the crush of people milling and flowing in front of her. But their eyes met, and Mina’s smile stirred up the madman’s chant: three thousand, three thousand, three thousand…
She wended her way toward him. The bodies in her path parted like a curtain to let him see her.
But he’d never seen her like this.
A begonia. That was the flower she’d come dressed as. Her dress was coral red but shimmered gold like a dragonfly’s wing where the sun lit her. Her skirt floated around her like a cloud beneath her tiny waist, and sweet roses trimmed her bosom.
No bonnet on his Mina, nothing to hide all her beauty. He’d never seen her hair like that—falling in long, twisting curls from the crown of her head like a princess.
She was a rare one. And extraordinary. And like his Wilhelmina orchid, revealing herself in all her glory the very moment he turned toward her. And he’d found her. And the most wondrous thing of all…she’d found him right back.
Thank you, God. You weren’t done with your gifts, were you?
He couldn’t stop the huge smile from stretching across his face. “Excuse me. I see the lady now.”
He hurried to join her, seeing Mary, Sebastian, and Emma then, too. But he wasn’t ever inclined to take his eyes off Mina.
Her eyes widened when she saw him coming. Damned if she didn’t blush. His step might have gained a little swagger at that.
“My goodness, Seth,” she whispered. “You look so handsome.”
He was wearing the same coat she’d seen him in a dozen times before, but she looked at him like he’d come from a tailor on Piccadilly. He opened his mouth to speak. Then had to try again. But he had to take her hand first to settle his heart. “I…uh…”
She moved closer and took his hand with both of hers. And there wasn’t anything that needed saying.
“What are you grateful for today?” she whispered.
“Everything,” he said, his voice hoarse with feeling. “All of it. You in that dress. Your blush. The way you look at me.” He lifted her hand to press his kiss to her palm. “Thank you.”
But it wasn’t just Min
a he was thanking.
He raised his head to smile at Mary and Emma. “Ladies, forgive me. I’m real pleased to see you all. There’s not a happier man in all of London.”
“We wanted to be here,” Emma said. “I think it disgusting what those nurserymen—”
“Emma.” Mary placed her hand on Emma’s arm. “Undoubtedly, we share your sentiments but they serve no purpose here.”
Mina tightened her hold on his hand, a flicker of something like pain sweeping her face, and guilt pierced him like an arrow. But he couldn’t tell her about the eighty-five percent. Not yet.
If he made the three thousand, he could surprise her. Watch her composed, capable, orderly self toss off all that seriousness and whoop with joy at the future she and all her sisters were going to have.
Three thousand. And nothing and no one would ever take her from him again. And if he didn’t…
Well. He couldn’t think on that right now.
“What a beautiful day this is,” Mina said, as they strolled from her sisters and deeper into the garden behind Chiswick House. They walked along the stream, leaving the crowd behind.
“The skies could be storming and streaked with lighting, and I wouldn’t count any other day finer than this one. You look so beautiful, Minnie.”
She smiled, resting her cheek against his arm for just a moment before they drew too much attention. And when she raised her head, her eyes were wet. “This dress was a gift from Charlotte. Can you even imagine such a thing?”
Seth fished for his pocket handkerchief to dry her eyes, his heart too full to say anything. He was grateful to Charlotte, but he wanted to be the one to give Mina what she needed. And more. Give her what she wanted, so an act of kindness wouldn’t make her cry like this. Because his Mina was meant to be calm and composed and—
A sob burst from her. “I don’t understand it. A woman like Charlotte, giving me a gown like this. And she sent her maid to do my hair. And slippers to match.” She blinked against tears. “Slippers. Look. And now I’m going to cry again.”
He fumbled with the handkerchief, and she accepted with a watery smile. Mina was feeling a lot today.
Well…hell. So was he.
“Aw, pretty.” He drew her into his arms, keeping his back to the flower show attendees to give her a little privacy.
She sniffed, burrowing deeper into his coat. “I never expected… Charlotte said the idea came to her the minute she met me.” She pulled a little ways out of his arms, which he didn’t like at all. “Oh! I think I should thank her again right now.”
He didn’t let her go. “Not just now, Minnie,” he murmured. “I’m thinking she won’t mind your giving me a little of your time first.”
And Mina, without a worry to wrinkling her fancy gown, or upsetting her careful hair, or even drawing the attention of the high born all around them, slid her arms around his waist and crushed herself fully against him. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I’m not thinking clearly. I couldn’t sleep at all last night.”
For an instant, he was so muddled, his arms lifted off her.
The sight of a lady in that dress pressed against him—the white shoulders, the dark fringe of eyelashes against her cheek, the expensive silk—jarred him. It was a little like looking through a cracked mirror.
He loved her. This was his Minnie.
Yet this lady, this fine and beautiful lady, held him like this. Like she wasn’t embarrassed by what she was doing or embarrassed by him. Like holding him was the most important, and the most natural, thing she should be doing. If he never had another moment like this, he’d still count himself the most blessed man on earth.
And it came to him in another jolt of surprise: he was loved completely.
He was the furthest thing from cursed a man could be.
She checked his face, looking bashful. Maybe because he was staring down at her, dumbstruck. “I am so excited to see the flowers you found, Seth,” she said. “I like to imagine you finding them. You, striding through the jungle, with perfumed flowers dangling from the canopy of the forest like a necklace of jewels. And you walk by every one, no matter how beautiful they are, because you’re looking for that one splendid orchid that’s hiding.”
He bent his head closer and kissed her, because he needed to do that more than he needed his next breath. “How did you know, pretty?”
She shook her head, smiling. “Don’t tease. It was just a daydream.” She grew serious. “I know finding them and harvesting the seeds was so much more difficult than I could imagine. Only you would be strong enough to do such a thing.”
God, she always saw him as so much more than he was. But wasn’t there a little truth in that? The Skinner brothers wouldn’t have survived a week in the jungles he’d traveled. And they’d thought they could just take his hard work. All the time and sacrifice and waiting. All the fear and all the passion. And all his pride.
And he’d almost let them.
The bitterness tightened and coiled up and down his abdomen, his hips, his jaw. Then he drew it into his lungs and exhaled it from his body. Mina deserved the best man he could be. He may not be rich or even all that smart, but he wouldn’t be anything so useless as angry. He could at least give her that.
He bent down and, keeping his back to the world behind them, kissed Minnie long and gently. The way she seemed to like best.
He could give her that, too.
“Ladies, gentlemen,” a member of Chiswick’s staff announced, “the auction of ornamentals is to begin in the pavilion. You are invited to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire some of the highest-quality specimens.”
To his surprise, the liveried man gestured to where he stood. “And we are joined by the plant hunter, himself. The explorer, Mr. Seth Mayhew.”
The lofty audience acquiesced to his presence, murmuring with genteel approval.
“Seth?” Mina’s voice was concerned, but her warm, brown eyes glowed up at him. “Are you ready?”
He straightened and smiled down at her. And he stood even taller with her on his arm. “I’m ready, pretty.” He smiled. “I’m finally ready.”
Twenty-five
The interior of the pavilion was cool for as many bodies as it held. Ladies in their wide gowns and gentlemen in their elegant schemes of black and white filled nearly every seat. She and Seth sat in two of the few empty chairs near the back wall, beside the intimidating Marchioness Wynston.
At the front, a long table displayed an array of stunning orchids and vibrantly colored blooms. Through an opening in the tent, she could see a line of labeled pots holding a veritable jungle of Seth’s other flowers. How would Seth bear this?
She slipped her hand into his. Seth was perched on the edge of his chair, his attention riveted to the front of the room, but he lifted her hand for a kiss before settling it back in his lap.
Her free hand sought her charm in the pocket of her gown, and the sight of the red-orange silk jolted her again. Her first red dress.
She arranged it carefully around her, unable to resist stroking the lustrous fabric. The gown was the most beautiful creation she’d ever seen and, after Seth’s two hundred pounds, the most generous gift anyone had ever given her.
She would sell it tomorrow—it was the height of fashion. And as beautiful as it was, she couldn’t keep something so valuable. Not when the dress would fetch what she could earn in a year.
Her family and Seth would need every shilling.
“You look most charming, Wilhelmina,” Lady Wynston said.
She had to swallow before speaking to the marchioness. “Thank you, my lady.”
“Who is your modiste, my dear?”
“Oh, I don’t… I could never afford such a service. Mrs. Repton gave this to me as a”—her voice broke—“a gift.”
Lady Wynston arched a brow, but her faded
blue eyes were warm and smiling. “Then I greatly approve her choice, my dear. Clever Charlotte—such an excellent notion for today. My dear, you would have found the Society far less welcoming had you chosen more modest attire. The ton cannot separate a girl from her dress.”
Lady Wynston wasn’t at all what she expected of the Upper Circles. But then, neither was Charlotte.
Mina sat a little taller in her chair. She wore an exquisite gown, and no one would fault her appearance as Seth’s particular friend. She would not want to add to the hardship of his day. Not that Seth seemed at all depressed or even angry. He seemed rather nervous, actually. Even excited.
A rumble of eagerness swept through the tent. One of the gardeners was carrying in a glorious basket with a towering arrangement of fuchsia-and-coral-mottled orchids. Her breath caught at their otherworldly beauty and, to her horror, she had to blink rapidly to hide the tears in her eyes.
Seth must have seen the emotion, for he smiled down at her. “It doesn’t pain me to see them, Minnie.”
Her throat tight, she could only nod and smile weakly.
“I remember the moment I first saw those blossoms. The excitement of seeing them and knowing they were rare, thinking no one in England had ever seen such a thing. It doesn’t pain me to see ’em sold. There isn’t a man or woman who can ever own what nature creates anyway.
“For a simple man like me, the finding is enough.” He dipped his head to whisper in her ear. “Until I found the rarest flower of all right on a wharf in Bombay”—he lowered his voice to a deep croon—“and I’m still not flirting with you, pretty.”
That drew a real smile from her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d dreaded this moment, how sad she was feeling for him. And he was trying to comfort her.
“No matter what happens today, Minnie, we’ll be fine, won’t we?”
She forced herself to hold his smiling gaze. And lied. “Yes, Seth. We’ll be fine.”
He lifted her hand to kiss it again, but Lady Wynston tapped his lap with her fan. “Cease your lovemaking, young man. The auction is to start, and I find the sight of young lovers far too diverting.”
