Authors: Nichole Matthews
“Indeed.
” Poppy nodded solemnly.
“
I
n fact, I
will search for a book
at the lending l
i
brary
and we can see
for ourselves
.”
Hester smiled
beautifully
, then turned to return
to her
painting
su
p
plies.
Poppy glanced at the watch pinned to her bodice. “Girls, i
t is time for us to clean up our
easels
and put away our supplies until next week
.”
Time flew when she was with the girls. She was proud of the time she spen
t teaching. She felt useful, n
ot just a
nother
pretty girl with nothing to do but
simper
and smile.
Once the supplies stashed
away
in the cupboards
,
the three girls line
d up and curtsied. “Good day, m
y
l
ady.” They chorused.
“
Good afternoon,
I will see you all next week.”
Poppy smiled.
Poppy
stepped into the hall
and in no time, at all three small girls sought her attention
.
“Lady Poppy!” t
hey cried, each c
urtsied then grabbed
for
her hands. Two of the girls smiled r
e
vealing their r
e
cently
lost
teeth.
“Look, m’lady.” Gretchen poin
ted
excitedly
to her mouth. “My toof is missing
.”
“Mine
too
.
”
B
onnie
pointed
to the
hole in her mouth
.
“How marvelous,” Poppy said with a smile
, enchanted by the charming lisps.
“Has the tooth fairy visited you already?”
“Yes, m’lady,
”
the
girls chorused
.
With
an excited glow in their eyes,
both girls dug
around in the pockets
of their pin
a
fores
, then
held up their small hands, palm flat
a shiny new coin
lying
in the ce
n
ter
.
“Look what
we
got.
”
Gretchen and B
onnie
each
held up a
fa
r
thing
.
She took a step closer and
lightly touched the coin in each girl’s hand
with a look of awe on her face
.
“How delightful,” Poppy encouraged.
“Be sure
to
purchase something nice.
”
“Yes, m’lady.” T
he
three
nodded fervently
.
Poppy then
turned to the smallest of the three little girls
and crouched down to eye le
v
el.
“Have you lost any teeth yet, B
eatrice
?” Poppy asked.
The smaller of the girls, a skinny little child with bright red hair braided in pi
g
tails, held a little doll cradled in her arms.
She gently rocked the bundle back and forth, a
ll the while
hu
m
ming
sweetly
.
Beatrice
shook her head
.
“Shhh…” She whispered
, holding a tiny finger to her lip.
“
Daphne is sleeping.”
Poppy stepped closer and
peeked
gingerly
at the bundle in Beatrice’s
arms.
“Oh,
I do beg your pardon.” She smiled down at the ragdoll with large button eyes. “I
will try not to wake her up.” Beatrice bent
low over the sleeping bundle singing sweetly
as
she walked away.
Poppy couldn’t help the
smile
that spread across her face
.
Gretchen and B
onnie
soon followed, running
off with their money clasped tightly in their small
fists
to show the other ladies
their newly acquired treasure
.
***
A warm smile spread across
Poppy
’s face
as she watched the children playing on the lawn
returning the waves of the
children
who
stopped
to watch
as the carriage drove by.
“I bel
ieve the idea you shared this afternoon
is marvelous
,
darling.” Adele smiled wid
e
ly. “And so did everyone else
I’d wager
.”
“I love it when their faces light up.
” Piper sighed, leaning her forehead against the wi
n
dow of the carriage.
“
Did you s
peak with
Gretchen and Beatrice today?”
“Yes dear.” Adele
patted Poppy’s knee. “They remind
me of you and Piper when you were
little
girls. You were both so adorable
without your front teeth
.
”
Poppy glanced at her aunt
and crossed her eyes
.
“What a
silly and
sweet girl you are
.
”
Adele sat back in the carriage.
“You can
count me in. It’s a delightful plan
.”
Hear my soul speak of the very instant that I saw you,
Did my heart fly at your service.
The Tempest
*William Shakespeare
D
eclan reined in at the start of the long drive
,
taking a moment to
study
the elm lined path that wou
nd its way to his destination with b
right green manicured lawns spread out on either side.
He
had no re
a
son to feel anxious
. Not him.
He was a master at charming
a room full of people
, or at least had been in the past
.
He had not
felt the need to test
that pa
r
ticular skill in a long while, but t
here wa
s no reason why he could
not
handle himself at an intimate house pa
r
ty.
As the only remaining son of the dukedom, h
e
had a responsibility to carry on the family name. Over the past
few
years,
he had spent his time
taking care of
his home,
recovering
from his immense heartache
,
ignoring social niceties
, and def
initely ignoring his obligations
.
He hoped he did
not
embarrass
himself.
He drew in a deep breath,
touched his heels to his Arabians flanks and cantered down the lane.
As Rosebriar came into
view,
his
heart lifted in anticipation.
He needed this change. He needed to be back in society again.
He needed not to be alone.
He slowed to a
walk
,
l
et
ting
the soft summer breeze soothe his abraded nerves. This would be his last summer as a single man before the Season commenced.
These would be h
is last m
oments of freedom before he
forced
himself
to find a
suitable
bride.
Too
bad,
he had never been able to spend more than five minutes in the
company
of the simpering
young
ladies of the
ton
.
However,
h
e could
no longer
pretend that he might live forever. That had already been pro
v
en false time and time again.
He rounded the bend
flanked by tall trees, as if standing
at attention in greeting
. His a
t
tention
captured by
the
three-story
redbrick and limestone façade
with gables and tur
rets
framed by hedges and crown
ed with
golden sunlight that enhanced the
magnificent lan
d
scape
. It was definitely a most impres
sive sight and as beautiful as his home. A fair second
, he felt the corner of his lip lift in the beginnings of a smile.
He
squared his shoulders. He c
ould
rusticate here for a couple of weeks
..
.
***
Poppy stepped
outside
and
took a deep
breath
,
i
nhal
ing
the sweet scent of honeysuckle.
After
today,
the
house
will be full
.
There would be n
o quiet peaceful moments
such as this
for
at least two full
weeks.
She headed towards the
garden she had created
, h
er small slice of heaven
. H
er
riotous
spirit
mirrored by the wi
ld
garden.
Nothing tamed. The unbridled chaos she created inside these walls allowed her to escape from all the rules and regulations expected of her by s
o
ciety.
The
s
weet smells filled her senses. The butterflies fluttered above. The buzzing bees provided
t
he
i
r own
special
symphony. What others considered weeds
, Poppy considered
bea
u
tiful flowers
.
C
herry blossoms, bluebells,
daisies
, sunflowers, violets, even a common musk
thistle
grew among
the magnificent assortment.
Wayward Ivy completed the garden
; c
overing the
stone
wall
that surrounded her secluded hideaway.
As she walked
down the
rows,
it was as if she pushed her
way
through a flower tunnel.
No particular order.
No particular rules.
She pushed her way through the flowering mass and sat
on one of the
wrought-iron
benches under a
n
isolated
trellis,
shut her eyes
and just
breathed.
Her senses so
ared and her thoughts took over as she sat in the
serene atmosphere of her garden a
bsorbing
the e
s
sence of life around her
.