Page 8 of Duke of Rath

The rest of the garden flourished. Truly, she loved taking care of plants—seeing carrots and cabbage and parsnips grow, fighting pests with natural means, improving fertilizer, coming up with ways to increase crop production. Plants thrived under her touch, and she could feel them respond to her.

Her vegetable garden and the apple and pear orchard behind it were in perfect order, ready for the main crops to be planted, fertilized, tended, and harvested.

Twenty or so feet away from her stood tiny Rose Cottage. Unlike the orchard and the vegetable garden, it was not at all perfect, nor was it a place where she felt happy. For years, it had stood sad and crumbling. The white paint on the window frames and the shutters had peeled to the point where most of it was gone, and the shutters hung askew. Bricks crumbled. The roof had caved in on one corner and leaked terribly so that mold grew on the walls and ceiling. Some windowpanes had been long broken and replaced with pieces of wood.

If only John had been alive. He would have finished his education in Oxford, would have been a lawyer in London, and would help Papa—with his connections, with money. Perhaps he would have even been able to help some of her sisters marry well…

“Patience, there you are!” Anne exclaimed as she approached. Her golden locks, so typical of the Rose family, bounced as she hurried towards her. “Papa is back from London! He’s crying his throat out looking for you.”

“Oh, you didn’t tell them I was here, did you?” Patience winced. “I don’t want him to know I’m with the roses.”

“Always the diligent gardener,” Anne teased, sitting on the ground beside her. “I do not think it’s about roses.”

“He came back early,” said Patience, brushing the soil from her hands. “Did he say if he managed to sell the estate?” The question made her chest ache. It would be hard to leave here, the only home she’d known in her eighteen years of life. Her roses. Her vegetables. Her orchard.

“No,” said Anne as she helped Patience stand. “He’s just crying for you like someone’s chasing him.”

Patience raised her eyebrows. “What could he want with me?” She was grateful to be the youngest, with no prospects or expectations. She could garden, do her studies, and research. “Do you think he might have found a way to improve our situation and avoid debtor’s prison?”

Anne chuckled softly. “You’re an eternal optimist, dear sister.”

Patience smiled. “Aren’t all of us Roses?”

The sudden sound of many quick, heavy steps crunching on the gravel pathway shattered the peaceful atmosphere in the garden. Patience looked up, her heart skipping a beat as she recognized her papa’s and mama’s voices.

“Patience! Patience!” cried Mama as she ran behind Papa, holding her skirts up, frantically looking around. “Where are you, you dreamy girl?”

“I have returned with news that will change our lives forever!” Papa cried, his voice carrying across the grounds.

Patience exchanged a startled glance with Anne before they both scrambled to their feet, curiosity and apprehension battling within Patience. As she and Anne hurried towards the house, Patience could see her four other sisters following her parents.

Papa, a short man with shoulder-length wavy gray hair, breathed hard. He had a round face with big blue eyes and was dressed in a worn, dirty beige coat and breeches.

“There you are!” Her mama pointed at Patience. She was breathing hard, her corset under her dress’s fitted waist probably tightening her chest way too much. “There she is, Mr. Rose!” she said.

“Ah, Patience, come here!” Papa cried as he, breathing hard as well, stopped, clutching at his round stomach, his face flushed with excitement. “Girls, gather around.”

The sisters exchanged uneasy glances, their mother’s excited expression wavering as the weight of their circumstances pressed down upon them all.

“I’ve told you,” their father continued, raising his hands for emphasis, “always keep your hopes up. Even in the darkest hour, like we went through.”

“Went through, Papa?” asked Emily. “Did you find a buyer?”

“No, better!”

His pale blue eyes landed on Patience, and he grinned a little madly. Patience didn’t like that at all.

“Patience, my dear,” Papa proclaimed, “you are to marry a duke!”

A stunned silence fell over the assembled family, and Patience felt as if the air had been punched from her lungs. Her sisters stared at her in disbelief, their expressions varying from shock to envy.

“Me? A duke?” Patience managed to choke out, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Indeed,” Papa confirmed, his eyes shining with pride. “The Duke of Rath has offered for your hand, and I have accepted on your behalf. This union will save our family from destitution.”

Patience’s dirty hand clutched at the apron on her stomach. The world careened from under her feet. She could hear the words, but they didn’t really register. How could a duke want her? She’d never been out; no one in high society even knew she existed.

“Why me?” Patience asked. “I have five older and more accomplished sisters!”