“That is more like it.” She clapped her hands together and laughed as she looked about them. “As to what I need? Well, let us find out…”
Ophelia and Mr. Watley stood together in the back garden, about halfway down the main pathway. The garden was rather grand and lavish in nature, colorful and verdant, and truly breathtaking. But it was also overgrown in places, a little chaotic in others, and in desperate need to organization.
“I take it that Adrian spends little time out here,” she said as she swept her eyes across the garden.
“This is true,” Mr. Watley said. “He is not one to traverse outdoors unless it is required, and I cannot think of the last time he entered the garden.”
“Likely because it is such a chaotic mess,” Ophelia said.
“Possibly…”
“I think we ought to change that.” She nodded once as ideas started to gather. “Why, I like to think that he wants to come out here, only he is scared to do so. If he is as particular as you say, he probably knows that such a place as this will break him.” She laughed. “A shame, really, as a garden like this ought to be enjoyed by all. His Grace especially.”
“What…” Mr. Watley swallowed. “What do you mean to do?”
“So much,” Ophelia said with a smile. “So, so much.”
It was two weeks ago that Ophelia married Adrian. The week had begun as expected, and Ophelia’s mood had been a most sordid thing. While the estate was technically her home, it did not feel that way, and as she walked the vast halls, she felt like a stranger… as if she did not belong.
Slowly, such feelings faded. In fact, Adrian was part of the reason. While they did not spend much time together, she had started to see another side to him, and it was one which told her that he wanted her to feel comfortable and welcome. That he wanted this home to be hers.
A week later and it was starting to feel that way… or it was close to doing. The problem, as Ophelia came to realize, was that nothing about the residence spoke to her personally. She’d had no hand in its design, and so long as nothing changed, nor could she.
Thus, an idea came to mind.
She approached Adrian with this idea, asking if she might be allowed to furnish some of the rooms to suit her tastes. He had clearly found the request disturbing, and she saw just how uncomfortable it made him. So, to try and ease his worries, she found a compromise.
“How about the back garden?” she had asked. “What if I start there?”
“What do you mean?” he asked carefully, as if sensing a trap.
“Let me make it my own,” he explained. “I noticed you hardly go out there anyway, if at all. So why don’t I have a hand in curating it? Making changes as I see fit.”
“What sort of changes?” Again, asked with extreme reservation.
To that, she had shrugged. “I will be sure to let you know.”
So it was that Ophelia was finally given her first true responsibility, a test as she saw it, a way to gently ease Adrian into the marriage so that he might come to understand that it was not something to resist and treat as a burden.
From her point of view, she also needed this. She needed to find her place. She needed to be useful. Most of all, she needed to establish herself in her new home so there could be no doubt that she belonged.
“Oh yes…” She walked the garden path, her gaze sweeping across the flowerbeds and hedges. “Yes, I like the basic premise. But it is too much. It is as if the curator could not decide on a theme, so chose them all.”
“It has not been touched since Adrian was a boy,” Mr. Watley explained as he followed her. “His father has little interest in such things, as clearly, His Grace is of the same mind.”
“Who is in charge of its maintenance?”
“We hire out,” he explained. “But their job is to keep the garden alive, not to make changes. Once a month they come.”
“Send for them,” she said. “Oh, and have them bring a proper landscaper. I confess, I have all these ideas but no notion of where to start!”
“It will be done, Your Grace.”
Ophelia beamed, already feeling as if this was the right thing. A small thing, she knew, but it was a step in the proper direction. And if Adrian liked what she did, perhaps he would allow her to do the same with some of the rooms in the residence.
For now, that is likely a little too much to hope for…
She spent the next few days speaking with landscapers. While Ophelia had sensed some resistance in Mr. Watley, she was pleased to see that he supported he completely; rather than calling on just the one, he sent for an entire team.
