They reined in front of the heavily carved front doors and Bened helped her down from her seat. The young couple who tended the house greeted them with big smiles, the man telling Bened all that had been done and what still needed finishing. His wife, Gwynneth, rushed Primrose up the stairs to a large bedchamber so that she could wash off the travel dust.
Primrose walked around the bedchamber she would now share with Bened and smiled. There was a massive fireplace all readied for the lighting of a fire that was not needed on such a warm, sunny day. Over it hung a large portrait of the Vaughn who had built the manor. Seeing as he was staring at the bed, Primrose thought she might ask that it be removed. Two long windows with beautiful drapes overlooked the side yard. It was not until she got closer that she realized they were not windows but doors that opened out onto a balcony.
Pausing in her inspection, she hastily washed up before the water cooled too much and then dressed in a fresh gown in the large dressing room, which held a tub and a small privacy closet. Another door led into a beautiful sitting room and on the other side of it was another bedroom. The last resident had clearly spent a lot of money to make the master bedroom as comfortable as possible.
With a final check on her appearance she hurried back down the stairs only to meet with Bened starting up them.
“Huh. Thought I would be in time to trap you in the bedchamber,” he teased as he took her into his arms and kissed her.
“It is a beautiful suite of rooms, Bened. There is just one thing . . .”
“The portrait. Meaning to move it to the library. Man staring at the bed all the time could make me shy.” He winked at her when she laughed and then he took her by the hand. “I need to show you your wedding gift. We can tour the rest of the manor later. I did all I dared to without your opinion but it cannot be full completed until I have it. So, do not be shy in stating it.”
As he pulled her down a long hallway, Primrose grew more and more astonished. The woodwork was beautiful and there were a lot of rooms. They would need more workers if they meant to get it down before they found themselves awaiting the birth of their third child. Then he stopped and tugged at her hand to draw her attention from an elaborate tapestry. Primrose stared at the doors he pointed to. Beyond them appeared to be a room that was mostly glass, even the roof, the large thick sheets of glass framed by metal.
“A place for you to grow your plants,” he said.
She was speechless and felt her eyes sting with an onrush of tears as she hugged him. “For me?”
“I would love to say I built it for you but I only fixed a broken room, putting in all the glass that could safely be put in it.” He took her inside and strode all the way through it to a set of glass doors at the far end. “These lead out into a garden area. The ground has already been made ready for whatever you might wish to plant.” He held her close when she threw herself into his arms. “You have a true skill and love of plants, Rose. I knew you would need something to satisfy the hunger to work with them. I wanted you to have what you needed to be happy here.”
She hugged him even tighter. “I have it. You. That is all I really needed but thank you. A hundred times thank you. It is a wondrous gift.”
He led her around the large room, pointing out what he had brought in for her to do her work. There were tables to work on, shelves for books or potions, and even a set of strong, shiny new gardening tools.
“Simeon is having your plants sent here. Your gardener at Willow Hill is making certain they are packed carefully and the men bringing them well trained in caring for them during the journey. Your books and ledgers, even all your pots. It will be a few days though for the ones bringing them will have very precise instructions so as much as possible will have a good chance of surviving the journey intact.”
“I wish I could find the words to tell you how much this means to me.” She rose up on her tiptoes to brush a kiss over his lips. “Thank you so much, my dearest husband. I love you.”
The kiss he gave her left them both breathless. A quick look around told them their desire would need to wait to be satisfied later. Primrose decided the first thing she would do was to make a private spot, using her biggest plants to shield it from view. It would be nice to make love with Bened in a room where you could see the night sky above you, perhaps be bathed in moonlight, and be surrounded with plants and all without bugs, bats, or anything else that wandered around in the night. It would be better than nice, she decided. It would be magic.
“Rose?” Bened smiled when she blinked clear of whatever thought she was lost in and looked at him. “Where did you go?”