Page 127 of Lady Waldrey’s Gardening Almanac for Cultivating Scandal

“Tell me—did last night ruin whatever is between you and your lovely Candace?”

James's eyes slid sideways toward him. “What makes you think there’s anything between us?”

“Is there not?” He shrugged. “Then perhaps I’ll use this trip to get to know her better. She’s always been stunning and lively, not to mention fashionable. The way Shelbourne treated her was loathsome, and the lady may be recovered enough to accept someone else’s suit. I daresay Alcott Court could use a lady’s touch to spruce it up a bit...”

“Your seventeen sisters aren’t enough of a feminine touch?” he grumbled.

“I have eight sisters, James, as you well know. Candace would get along famously with them all. Actually, why am I here hanging about with you when I could be bringing her a bouquet of flowers right now...”

William made to steer his horse away, and James turned to him abruptly and frowned.

“Ah,” William said, victorious. “I knew it.”

James sighed and finally admitted, “I fear I may have ruined everything last night. The way I spoke to her...”

“May I give you some advice?”

“What advice could you possibly have to offer? You’re unmarried at seven and twenty and have no desire to change that in the near future.”

William waited, his eyebrow raised.

“Apologies,” James said. “I fear I’m not myself today.”

“It’s to be expected. As far as my experience with ladies, surely it must come as no surprise that a man with eight sisters has a wealth of knowledge on the subject of women. After all, they discuss matters of the heart freely in my presence.”

“They do?” James's brow wrinkled.

“They feel comfortable doing so because I pretend not to be able to hear them when I’m working on my ledgers. I feign deafness when I look at my books, only answering when they call my name in the most strident of tones. Therefore, they’ve grown comfortable telling each other anything, as if I were not even in the room.”

“That’s a shocking admission.”

Despite his words, James was begrudgingly impressed. Perhaps the man was even more clever than James had realized. It was a bold statement, as James found him very intelligent indeed.

He waved his hand airily to dismiss James's unauthentic astonishment. “If every man had eight sisters such as mine, we’d all know that women are far more intelligent and complex than we give them credit for. If Beaufort had eight sisters such as mine, he never would have asked that daft cow to be his bride.”

James chuckled and shook his head.

William continued, “Regardless, one of the many things I’ve learned about women is that they often need time and space to really know what they feel. Give her a day or two, then have a private conversation. I’m sure things aren’t nearly as bleak as your expression suggests.”

“I was...I said harsh things. All the more terrible because there was truth behind them. But I hadn’t looked at my own shortcomings in the moment, didn’t bother to truly examine what happened from her perspective before I jumped to the worst conclusions.”

“I suggest you tell her as much when you get the chance. Apologize, James, and endeavor to do it sincerely. Women can smell a falsehood from a hundred miles.”

“I won’t need to endeavor to do it truthfully, when the time comes. I regret much about the evening.”

“As do I—starting with the regret that our friend Beaufort couldn’t see past a nice bosom to notice the snake it’s attached to.”

“William.”

He shrugged. “It’s the truth, though I think after yesterday evening, he might be noticing the scales and fangs, after all.”

CHAPTER 37- CANDACE

From Gardening for the Estate-

Many of the finest estates in England possess an orangery—that is, a separate building, mostly glass, dedicated to the care and propagation of citrus fruits. Not only are such structures functional—allowing for oranges, lemons, and limes to be used in the kitchens—but they offer a lovely respite where one might sit in warmth and enjoy the uniquely beautiful scent of citrus blooms.

The day of the picnic, Candace arrived at the lakeside spot early to inspect the decorations. Mr. Scott and his men had erected poles around the clearing with strings of colorful flags draped from pole to pole, fluttering in the wind. The effect was quite pleasing, the cheerfulness only added to by the bright quilts that lay over tarpaulins, decorating the green slope of grass.