Lenore is happy to accept the duty of managing the garden and its newly budding rose bush. Hearing that it's an order from the Duke leaves her both anxious and excited. Is this his quiet way of letting her know that he trusts her, even just a little bit?
However, what if she messes up? What if she can't turn the gardens into anything beautiful? Would he throw her out in that case? Send her away from the property to live out the rest of their marriage some place where he doesn't need to see her?
The problem is that Lenore has no idea how to take care of plants. It isn't something she ever learned in the past—there was no need to know. Her uncle has a group of gardeners whose only job is to tend to the plants on his property. Plus, it's been so long since anything has been able to grow on Alaric's property that he doesn't have any gardeners employed right now. Even nearby villages struggle to grow plants in Barrowmere.
She twists her wedding ring around her finger as she heads to the gardens again with Mary and a knight assigned to escort her during her time outside. Her name is Dame Brina, and Lenore's been told that she joined the duchy's knights at a young age. Lenore doesn't ask why she joined young. Judging by the scar on her face, she hasn't had an easy life.
Lenore understands the feeling, even if her own scars aren't as visible. They still hurt. So, she greeted Brina with a smile and asked her to take care of her.
Since the air has a chill to it around the Duke's property, Lenore has a shawl wrapped around her shoulders, but she knows it won't be enough to prevent her from shivering when she goes back inside the manor. This kind of old air sticks to her, and she'll need to get used to it if she's going to be in charge of the gardens. Perhaps spending more time outside might help her adjust to the eternally dreary weather.
It doesn't take long for her to find the budding flower she'd been told about. While it's just a bud, its color is vibrant against the brown and gray backdrop of dead plants around it.
Lenore looks at Mary and Dame Brina. "I, uh, don't suppose that either of you happen to know how to take care of plants?"
They shake their heads, and Lenore isn't surprised. Brina, as a knight, wouldn't have a reason to know about gardening. Similarly, Mary has tended to Lenore for years as her personal maid.
"My lady, I bet the library has books about gardening," Mary says. "After all, I heard these gardens used to be beautiful and filled with roses."
"You're right, but I should still do something today. I don't want anybody to think that I'm avoiding my responsibility."
"Nobody would dare think that of the Duchess of Barrowmere," Brina says.
"Maybe not."
Lenore knows that the people of Barrowmere have some amount of consideration for her, possibly because she's married to the Duke, even if it's just a political marriage that was forced on them. After all, titles carry weight, especially one like duchess.
The problem is that she still hears her uncle's words echoing from her memories. She raises her hand to her cheek, feeling the phantom sting of his anger. Of course, she knows that Alaric isn't like her uncle. While he appears detached from the world, she's seen small moments of kindness from him. However, after spending more than a decade living in fear of her uncle, that fear has settled somewhere deep in her heart, and she doesn't know how to handle it.
"Well, if I may offer a suggestion, my lady?" Brina asks.
"Please do, Dame Brina."
Brina kneels by the plants, brushing away old sticks and dead grass. "It's difficult for life to exist in the middle of death. If somebody put me in charge of the gardens, I'd start with clearing out the debris that's built up over the decades. Then, new plants might have a better chance of thriving."
Lenore looks beyond the budding rose bush and finds that the area is covered in plant debris, and possibly debris that's blown in or been dropped here over the years. It truly does look like a complete mess. "Dame Brina, you're brilliant."
As Lenore kneels down and starts moving waste from around the flower bud, Brina and Mary are quick to join her. Soon, the bud is alone, but there's no longer anything around it that will stifle its growth.
"I'll have to request supplies if I want to clean up every bit of the gardens." Lenore thinks about how large the property is and how much area the gardens cover. Her knees and back hurt at the thought of clearing it all like this. "If I have to do it by hand and don't have a wheelbarrow or even a burlap sack, then it'll take a very long time to finish."
"That's easy," Mary says. "The head butler keeps track of everything in the manor and handles how it's distributed, so if I speak with him, he'll be able to get you what you need for this project, my lady."
Lenore nods. "Alright, then. I'll leave that to you, Mary. In the meantime, I should stop by the library again and pick up books on botany and gardening. After all, cleaning the grounds won't be enough to say that I've fulfilled my task of managing the gardens."
To an extent, Lenore feels like she's been entrusted with an impossible task. Is a single bud enough to suggest that the entire garden can be revived? And if it is, why give that job to a clueless duchess like her instead of a professional gardener?
Truly, she doesn't understand Alaric's decision, and maybe it's just a test or a way for him to keep her busy while she stays in Barrowmere.
Still, she wants to try her best. Even if this job is some kind of joke that the people of Barrowmere are playing on her, she can say that she gave it a real effort, even if she fails.
So, before she stands up to go inside and search the library, she leans close to the bud and whispers, "Please, grow big and healthy. Make this place beautiful again."
There's no way for her to know that the earth itself resonates with her words.