He sighed as he spooned sugar into the cup of tea Arthur had just set down in front of him. “Perhaps, if Victoria and Albert stopped breaking into the public gardens and terrorising the visitors, nobody would have to wonder.”

“It’s not my fault the fence doesn’t hold.”

Actually, it was, but I wasn’t getting involved in this argument. Not again. Last time, she’d ignored me for a week for pointing out that she was legally required to keep the goats secure.

“It is, and you know it is,” Daddy replied. “Why don’t you ask Miles to reinforce it?”

“That whippersnapper? What does he know about gardens?”

He cast his gaze towards Arthur. “Thank you, Arthur. I won’t subject you my sister’s ramblings any longer this morning. Will you prepare my office for my meeting this morning?”

With the assurance he would, Arthur bowed once again and silently disappeared.

“A lot. He’s an extremely qualified gardener, and exceptionally talented. You know he worked at Kew Gardens for five years.”

“He’s also about ten.”

“Thirty,” I muttered.

“What?” Aunt Cat looked at me, eyes sparkling.

I was pretty sure she knew I had the hots for the gardener. “He’s thirty,” I replied.

Daddy frowned. “How do you know that?”

Here we go. “Well, see, there’s this thing that human beings do when more than one are gathered together. It’s called talk.”

“Hardy-har-har. Very funny.”

“You asked.”

He cradled his cup of tea. “What are you doing today?”

I shrugged. “I was going to eat breakfast, but Aunt Cat put that idea to bed with her gruesome gossip.”

She raised her teacup to me. “You are welcome.”

“I wasn’t thanking you,” I pointed out. “Otherwise, I don’t have plans. The weather is nice so I might go out and wander about the garden for a while.”

“How was the dinner party last night?” Daddy asked.

That was what he said.

It wasn’t what he wanted to know.

He wanted to know if any of the single, eligible men that had been there had caught my eye.

“Terribly boring,” I replied without batting an eyelid. “Helena’s cousin only spoke about his ex-girlfriend who apparently traded down even though she’s now engaged to an Italian billionaire. Louis Fitzgerald kept holding conversations with my breasts, and Howard Billings wouldn’t stop discussing his new business deal which apparently will net him seven figures and he wanted us all to remember that. All very brash and inappropriate.”

Daddy shook his head. “Where have all the gentlemen gone?”

“They started watching porn,” Aunt Cat said, flipping the page of her newspaper. “And forgot that women only want a freak between the sheets. They want a gentleman on the streets.”

He blinked at her as I fought back a laugh. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, was she?

“Speaking of brash and inappropriate,” he said slowly before turning his attention back to me. “I’m going to Windsor this afternoon to help with preparations for the state banquet in two weeks. I’ll be meeting with the Duke of Westminster and—”