Petals

two

Early morning sunlight poured in through the window behind Adrian as he forced his eyes open, blinked, and lifted his head from where it rested on top of the desk in the library. Around him lay his mother's books on flowers and in his hand was a scrap of paper with a few hastily scribbled words on it. There was a knock on the library door as he straightened and he called for them to come in.

Oliver opened the door and if he was at all surprised by his young master's disorderly appearance, he took care not to mention it. "The boy who came yesterday is here, sir. He claims he came an hour early because he had nothing else to do." The butler's tone suggested he didn't believe the boy even had an appointment in the first place.

Adrian glanced at the daunting grandfather clock and stood, making a small pretence of neatening the desk before striding towards the door. "Tell the boy I'll see to him in half an hour. In the mean time, let him entertain Chaucer - no one's played with the poor mutt in ages."

Oliver bowed his head slightly and held the door open for Adrian to leave. "Very good, sir."

Adrian took the stairs two at a time up to his room. He knew his valet noticed that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but at the moment, he didn't care what anybody thought. As he began to dress, his mind was racing with thoughts of the flowers that were currently standing in a vase on the library mantle. Bluebottles.

'I admire you from afar, being too timid to approach.'

A shy message sent in the form of flowers by a lady adored by a young orphan boy. The thought brought a smile to Adrian's face and he glanced at the paper he held as his valet fetched his gloves. On it was written his reply - or rather, the name of his reply: Clematis.

'I pay tribute to your brilliance and cleverness.'

Rather elaborate wording, but the message was the one he wanted. He tucked the paper in his pocket and took his gloves, heading out into the hallway. Jack was in the sitting room, frolicking with a happily barking Chaucer. Adrian smiled at the sight, feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time; he hardly even noticed the ache in his neck from sleeping all night with his head on his desk.

"Come on, then," he called good-naturedly to the boy. "We've got to go and buy something for this lady of ours, don't we now?"

"Buy 'er sumtin'?" Jack repeated as he set aside the dog and stood, following Adrian to the door. He had to walk rather quickly to keep up with the man. "She's not much fer bought thin's, is milady. 'Er sista's the one 'oo likes all 'at. Not 'at I don't like Lady -"

"She has a sister, then?" Adrian interrupted, pouncing on the bit of information that the boy had let slip.

Jack shut his mouth tight and looked to be silently chastising himself. "I shuldn't 'ave sed 'at."

It was Adrian's turn to curse his own tongue. The lad had been about to tell mention the name of the lady's sister. He should have waited. Sighing, he stepped into the carriage and Jack followed him, a little hesitantly, it seemed to Adrian.

"What are ye gettin' 'er, anyways?" Jack asked after a moment.

"A bouquet. You said she likes flowers, after all."

Frowning, Jack scratched idly at the back of his head. "They's got t' 'ave sum meanin' or she'll 'ink yer just another daft sod."

Adrian's mouth curved in a half smile. The boy could certainly inspire confidence. "Don't worry. They have a meaning."

▫▪▫

She'd been a complete idiot, of course. Annabelle had thought that a night's rest would rid her of the mortification she felt for sending the bluebottles to Adrian. However, she hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before and now she felt even worse. She had seen Jack return the day before, but he had avoided her for the rest of the day and left early in the morning. What on Earth could have happened?