Mrs. Dawe chuckled. “Not for a while, she won’t. Her mam roped her into helping her set up a new display in her shop, and they were nowhere near done when I walked by ten minutes ago. You’ve time to come in, and I’ll send Mr. Dawe round to let her know where you are. Lady Elizabeth, then, is it?”

She liked the way Mrs. Dawe said it—as if it were simply a matter of fact, stated for clarity, not something to fuss over like Mrs. Pepper had done. She didn’t at all mind nodding her agreement. “That’s right.”

“Lovely. You and Mrs. Tremayne can rest in the drawing room while I put the pot on and get lunch together. Master Oliver ought to be home soon too.”

She wasn’t sure what Mrs. Tremayne’s wink was supposed to mean, but it made Libby’s cheeks feel warm again. But then, she’d forgotten to pay attention to whether her hat was shielding her face from the sun, so it was possible she’d just been sunburned.

No one seemed to mind that Libby didn’t say anything. She let the lady of the house lead her into the pretty little drawing room and didn’t even mourn the time she wasn’t spending in the Gardens.

The plants would still be there in an hour. For now, she would simply enjoy the time with the Botanist’s grandmother.

10

Oliver paused, his hand on the doorknob as he looked over his shoulder at his uncle. “You’ll let me know if you hear anything else?”

Uncle Mark gave him the same look he’d always given him when he asked what he deemed a ridiculous question. “Keeping it to myself wouldn’t do much good, now would it?”

“No. But we’ve never encountered this particular problem in my memory. Perhaps you’ll decide to combat it singlehandedly tomorrow.”

His uncle chuckled at that and hooked his pipe into his mouth. He looked like he’d much prefer sinking into his favorite armchair and getting lost in that book by George MacDonald sitting on the end table than going about the village, speaking up against superstition. “By tomorrow it’ll likely have blown over. It’s just your grandfather Gibson, you know it is. He’s been having a grand time, telling tales at the pub.”