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Oh, what an interesting topic. Jane remained, silently, listening to their conversation. She needed to know this just as much as Lord Jardine, if she were to gain Mister Gardener’s trust. He didn’t even know she was his new mistress, she must remedy that post haste.
“Hybrids and cross pollination,” Mister Gardener said. “This apple is a good one, but we have no fruit forming on it at all. Got hardly any flowers, so that’s no surprise. Naught to do but hope for a better season next year. The apricots did manage some fruit, and we got those into the kitchen where Cook set about preserving them.”
Apricots? Jane’s favourites. She’d ask Cook about the jams next time she was in the kitchen.
“Been an honour talking with ye, Lord Jardine, Lady Jardine.” Mister Gardener said as he was about to take his leave and get back to work.
“Oh, goodness, I’m not Lady Jardine, I’m Lady Ealing,” Jane corrected.
“Oh, my Lady, forgive me! It’s been ever so long since the daughters came to visit. I thought you was one of them.”
“There is nothing to forgive, Mister Gardener. It was remiss of me not to introduce myself to all the staff on the estate the moment I arrived. It’s merely that the Baron and I have only recently wed, and we have, uh, been otherwise occupied.”
Mister Gardener pinked at the cheeks and said, “Please forgive an old man his poor eyes. I’d best get to the chickens.”
“Of course,” Jane said, “I’ll let you get back to your work.”
He turned and left.
Interesting. Jane yearned to know exactly how long it had been since the Baron’s daughters had visited their father. Earlier in their visit, Lady Jardine had pronounced that her father had always greeted her with a kiss. As if they met often.
But this fresh information from the head gardener implied that it had been a long time since the daughters had been anywhere near Ealing Estate.
“This rain is soaking my feet, I must get indoors soon,” Jane said to Lord Jardine.
The man took the hint and headed towards the house.
Jane made her way over to Mister Gardener’s potting shed, where she found him at his sheltered table, sorting various seeds into piles. Despite the watery light filtering through the open door, the man wasn’t even squinting in the endeavour. Nothing wrong with his eyesight at all! How could he have mistaken her for Jardine’s wife?
“Excuse me, Mister Gardener.” Jane said.
The man stopped what he was doing and doffed his hat, “Yes, my Lady, and please, allow me to apologise again for my offense.”
“I appreciated the candour,” Jane said, delivering a beaming smile. “Lord Jardine is not outside, so we will not be overheard. As the new Baroness, it behoves me to take an interest in the estate, on behalf of the Baron. This is as good a time as any to acquaint myself with the kitchen gardens and the larger estate itself.”
“Of course, my Lady,” Mister Gardener bowed his head. “Where would you like to begin?”
Jane smiled, “As far from prying eyes and ears as possible. Shall we walk to the growing fields to see which crops are preforming best in these terrible conditions?”
Mister Gardener delivered her a smile. “After you, my Lady.”
Good. “The broad beans. They are delicious, where do they grow?”
Mister Gardener gifted her with a smile so wide his eyes vanished in the creases.
“They are my pride and joy. Now that I know you like them, I shall plant more.”
“That would be wonderful. But alas, at the evening meal this past night, the Jardines played a jest on me and took all of the beans for their plates. Then they pushed them around and didn’t eat them.”
Mister Gardener shook his head, “Apologies for speaking out of turn, My Lady, but that is a terrible waste, especially this year when the crops are not producing as they should.”
This was going superbly. Not the lack of crops, that was an unmitigated disaster, but the comfortable way Mister Gardener delivered such valuable information without apparently realising quite how valuable his information was.
“Mister Gardener, how long has it been since any of the Baron’s adult daughters visited Ealing House?”
“It’s been many a year, my Lady. And to be honest, we had no notice they would be arriving. We’ve pulled up the carrots far too early, and now we’re hunting for potatoes just to keep on feeding them all. It was a relief to know the Baron would marry again, as we were all in a state of disarray, not knowing what lay in our futures. Ah, here’s my good wife. Bethany, come and meet our new Baroness.”
Bethany wiped her hands on her apron and bobbed a curtsey. “Pleasure to meet the new mistress, my Lady. Is the produce to your liking?”
