‘She asked me not to tell you,’ Rosa went on, thrusting down the guilt she felt at doing so. ‘But I know she’s looking for it. Perhaps you are too?’

He nodded slowly. ‘I would dearly love to see it,’ he said. ‘But I do not think I have ever come anywhere close. If the stories are to be believed, the garden only appears to people in their darkest hours.’

Rosa tried to prevent her mouth twisting into a grimace. Surely she had already had her darkest hour? Far darker than anything Beatrice had experienced in her sheltered life. She knew her friend’s mother had died, but everyone lost their mothers eventually. It was the natural order of things.

‘Why do you think that some people get to see the garden, whilst others don’t?’ she asked. ‘It doesn’t seem fair.’

‘Perhaps not,’ James replied. ‘But I do not think there are many who would claim that life is in any way fair. For now, I think I am better off searching for orchids rather than looking for the Winter Garden. I have the feeling that if it does not wish to be found, then you won’t see so much as a leaf, and I’m determined to have something spectacular to present to the Linnean Society when I return from my next expedition.’

‘You’re going abroad again?’

‘I leave next week.’

‘For how long?’

‘I hope to be back by Christmas.’

‘Well, I wish you luck. And I hope you will consider selling some of your new flowers to me upon your return.’

‘You shall have the first pick, your grace. It is a great pleasure to provide orchids to someone who appreciates them as much as you do.’

‘I think they are truly the most beautiful, extraordinary flower in the world.’

‘As do I.’

She glanced at the rainbow orchids surrounding them, their colours bold and wonderful in the dark.

‘Please take these back to the hothouse, Mr Sheppard,’ she said suddenly.

He paused. ‘But no one will see them there.’

Rosa wanted the flowers out of the way so that they would not be damaged later. Ruining the flowers was not part of her plan. But she could hardly say that to James.

‘They are too special,’ she said. ‘Too beautiful. You will think me a selfish creature, but I wish to keep them all for myself.’ She glanced out at the garden and her lip curled slightly. ‘These people will not appreciate them properly, at any rate.’

James gave her a curious look, but did not probe.

‘Very well,’ he replied.

He called over two gardeners to help him. They had just removed the last orchid by the time Eustace had gathered everyone at the edge of the lake for the grand unveiling. Servants had wheeled out the crate, and it stood beside the duke, covered in a red velvet drape.