Page 56 of No Ordinary Lady

He frowned. “Is that right?”

“It was her idea for us to cut flowers together,” Amy said proudly.

Daniel nearly groaned. So, Granny had given up trying to thwart his plans and was not attempting to hurry them along? Yet, Granny had been against this match all along. She did not like Amy?

He cursed under his breath. It felt like a betrayal.

Oblivious to Daniel’s train of thought, Amy continued talking at him. “I’ve done all I can to win her favor, of course, these past years, but she’s never been an easy woman to please, has she?”

“I don’t know about that,” he countered. “Granny just likes to have fun.”

Amy wound her arm through his without warning, so they had to walk close together. “How much longer do you think she’ll stay?”

Daniel glanced down, startled by the odd question. “What do you mean, stay?”

“I mean, she still talks of Portishead with such fondness that I’ve always expected she’d go back,” Amy whispered, which put her face much closer to his shoulder than he cared for.

“She has a lot of friends there,” Daniel said, attempting to release the woman clinging to him like a vine.

Yet Amy could not be budged, because she seemed to have more words to whisper to him. “And the Trills? Funny name. I had no idea a connection existed or how fond she was of Miss Marian. It’s all so curious and odd that she never discussed the woman, or her corresponding with Marian.”

Daniel frowned. Was Amy really so accustomed to knowing everyone’s business? “Who my grandmother writes to is her own business.”

“You are correct, of course. But I’m sure your mother was taken by complete surprise by Miss Trill’s unexpected arrival. There was such an unseemly rush to have a guest chamber made ready,” Amy said, looking to him for confirmation that he knew more than he did. “Were you surprised, Jeremy?”

For a moment, Daniel didn’t understand that Amy was referring to him by his actual first name. Jeremy was a name that Daniel had never cared to use very often since it was his father’s, too.

“Yes, but not at all concerned about her act of charity toward someone in need who was dear to her,” he said, framing Marian’s arrival in such a way that aligned with the story going round. “My grandmother has a vast number of friendships, and she has always made herself at home here.”

“That is true. She is quite unorthodox about the acquaintances she keeps. It’s little wonder your mother disapproves. I wonder, given your grandmother’s strong fondness for Portishead, that if you made the suggestion, she might want to take herself on a holiday there soon. She could take Miss Trill along with her to keep her company were she to stay. I’m sure she’d never be lonely.”

Daniel decided not to tell Amy about Granny’s intention to leave as soon as he married. He knew Granny hadn’t warmed to Amy at all, and that was why she was planning to go. Daniel hoped to change her mind. “My grandmother has always been free to come and go as she pleases.”

“You are so generous to your family.” Amy winced. “It is such a pity that she has never made as much an effort to fit in.”

“Yes,” Daniel said slowly. He believed his grandmother had enlivened the district with her wit and charm and an odd assortment of friends coming to stay over the years. He didn’t want her to fit in. To become silent and unobtrusive. She encouraged discussion of current ideas and challenged the attitudes of everyone she met. That was not something to ever complain about, yet Amy clearly saw it as a flaw in her character rather than a benefit.

He glanced over his shoulder as the maid cleared her throat repeatedly. The maid’s brow had risen high as she looked at them and he managed to disentangle himself from Amy’s grip. “You’ll find the greenhouse you want in that direction, my lord,” she whispered.

“We know that, you silly girl! Do not interrupt your betters again,” Amy snapped at the maid, and then drew in a breath and smiled up at Daniel. “This is the site for the new greenhouse, I believe.”

Daniel nodded, taking it all in. The lightning-fast change of Amy’s mood, her lashing out at the maid, who was only doing what she was supposed to do as a chaperone. “Ah yes. The new greenhouse. Thank you for the reminder.”

They were in an open patch of lawn, surrounded by low plantings and not much else. He studied the spot carefully. A good place for a new greenhouse…if he’d thought he ever needed another one.

“It is nice to have you here to make good on your promises, but it will be a shame for me to see another beautiful patch of lawn torn up so close to the manor,” Amy murmured. “You’ll see the new greenhouse from the morning room windows every single day. Are you certain it would not be better placed somewhere else? Perhaps nearer the grotto, where water can be sourced more easily.”

“Only if you made holes for pipes in the grotto walls,” Daniel mused.

“My father says that would be considerably easier and cheaper than carting water from the existing well.”

“Does he now?” Daniel mused, unimpressed that Amy and her father had designs to ruin the grotto his father had designed and enjoyed. It was Daniel’s favorite part of the estate.

Mother had yet to discuss her plans, and for him to approve the expense of it, but he was certain she would have considered every alternative position for a new greenhouse. Changing the grotto would never have been an option.

They walked on a little more and then ducked inside the greenhouse together. The greenhouse was occupied by the gardeners at present, watering plants and moving them about. It was utter chaos inside.

Yet Amy forged ahead, ordering servants out of her way, leaving Daniel to follow. It was clear to see they’d come at the absolute worst time to pick flowers for the house.