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“Hazel is pulling weeds. Why don’t you prove that statement to yourself and go help her.”
The thought of getting down in the dirt and pulling weeds horrified Willow. “I am a noble,” she cried. “I wasn’t meant to do manual labor.”
“Hazel is a noble as well, but yet you see how happy it makes her doing something to beautify the earth. She doesn’t feel it is beneath her to do such a task.”
“But Hazel is different. She’s . . . odd.”
“Mayhap, there is something you can learn from the girl. Now stop judging her and start changing or Sir Conrad will never want you for his wife.”
“Imanie, wait,” she said, sitting up in bed, looking around the room, sure the vision was real. Through the open door, she saw Hazel on her hands and knees at Imanie’s grave. A pile of weeds grew higher and higher at her side. Hazel reached up and wiped her brow, never letting her concentration leave the task she was committed to doing.
Willow got out of bed and walked over to the door, holding on to the doorjamb as she struggled with her decision. Part of her wanted to help Hazel, but another part of her felt disgusted, knowing this was not the work of a noblewoman.
Then Imanie’s last words made her reconsider. The woman was right. If Conrad thought she was naught but spoiled, he would never want her for his wife. And not only that, but she needed to figure out a way to find the ruby or the fate of two nations might be doomed.
“I have work to do,” she said aloud, reaching to her shoulder to remove her attached tippets. The sleeves of a noblewoman’s gown were detachable so they wouldn’t get dirty. And if a dress started to look worn, the sleeves could be added to a new gown altogether. Willow had never rooted around in the mud like a pig before. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen once she started pulling weeds, but she was about to find out.
* * *
Conrad rodethrough the gate of the secret garden, squinting in the sun, not sure what was going on. Willow’s horse was tethered to a nearby tree, and he thought he heard laughing and singing coming from behind a big pile of weeds. He slipped off his horse and tied it to the tree, keeping his eyes focused across the garden. A crooked path cleared of weeds led across the yard. He followed it, approaching slowly, recognizing his sister’s voice as well as Willow’s singing a cheery song he had never heard before.
He walked up to the pile of weeds almost as tall as him, peeking around it curiously. “Hello?” Conrad stepped out into the open to find both Hazel and Willow sitting on the ground in the dirt.
“Conrad,” exclaimed Willow, jumping to her feet with weeds in her grasp. Her hair was disheveled, and dirt streaked her face. If he wasn’t mistaken, he swore he saw a bead of perspiration on her brow. Her gown was filthy. Her crown sat atop a nearby rock. But the oddest part that made him laugh was the fact that Willow had removed the tippets of her dress and had bare arms up to her shoulders since she didn’t wear a chemise beneath her gown.
“Brother, how nice to see you,” said Hazel from the ground. She reached out and brushed away dirt from a ring of rocks that outlined Imanie’s grave. “How do you like what we did? Now, we’ll always know where poor, old Imanie is buried, no matter how high the weeds get.”
“Willow?” Conrad wondered if the girl had gone mad. “What are you doing on the ground in the dirt? And without your sleeves?”
“I’m helping your sister pull weeds.” She held up a handful of weeds and dropped them atop the pile.
“I can see that.” He walked around her, eying her up and down. This didn’t seem like the same girl he knew. “I heard you both singing and laughing when I walked up. Have you been drinking wine or, perhaps, whisky?”
“Conrad, how can you say such a thing?” asked Hazel. “We were just having fun.”
“Fun,” Conrad repeated, nodding and trying to comprehend what was going on here. He was sure Willow had never dug in the dirt in her life and wouldn’t be caught dead doing what she considered was the work of servants. He expected this odd behavior from his sister, but not from Willow. He didn’t understand it.
“You should try it, said Willow with a smile. “Hazel said gardening helps her to relax and forget about her problems. It makes her happy and calm. I didn’t believe it until I tried it for myself. It really does work.” She scratched the side of her face, leaving a long streak of dirt in its place.
“You two never should have left the castle. Come on, Hazel, we’re going back.” He pulled his sister to a standing position and noticed the smile disappear from her face.
“But I’m not finished yet. Just look at all the weeds that need to be pulled. And after that, I want to trim the bushes and thin out some of the lilies. I was thinking of even planting a few radishes since they grow fast and will thrive in the approaching cold weather.”
“Hazel, brush off your clothes and meet us by the horses. Willow, I’d like a word with you in the house please.”
“Of course,” said Willow, picking up her crown and placing it on her head cockeyed. He followed her inside the cottage where she picked up her tippets and started to button them back on. “This is difficult to do by myself. Would you mind helping me?”
“Willow,” he said, taking one of her sleeves and securing it as he spoke. “Why did you come here with Hazel?”
“She was very upset when the crowds starting pushing and yelling. She was crying, and I thought she was about to pass out. Did you know her body was trembling until we got away from everyone and were halfway to the secret garden?”
“Hazel has a lot of fears. That is why I am securing a place at your father’s castle for her. I don’t know how to help her. I think being around your mother will be good for her.”
“You’re pushing her away when you should be pulling her closer. You are all she has, Conrad. She is still very upset about the death of your parents, especially your mother.”
“And so am I,” he told her. “Hazel is frail and not at all well. You should never have brought her here. She needs to stay in her chamber and be monitored at all times. I’m afraid I have been too lenient with her and now look what’s happened.”
“But all she needs is to be noticed, Conrad. Not locked away and hidden as if she were addled.”
