Ruin Me Please (57 page)

Declan chuckled at her foot tapping
impatiently on the floor, as she was unable
to co
n
tain her burgeoning enthus
i
asm any longer.

With
his
l
egs stretched out in front of
him, Declan
smiled
as he watched his beautiful new bride take in her new surroundings. 
Only realizing
at
that
moment,
he
held
his breath
waiting to see her reaction to his childhood home, he
slowly exhaled.

Poppy held out her hand
, looking
over her shoulder
, she grasped his hand
tightly, h
er
fin
gers twined intimately with his
.

As the carriage came to a rolling stop in the drive,
a waiting footman opened
the d
oor
and
the steps
lowered.  Bowing as Declan alighted from the carriage and turned to assist Po
p
py.

S
tepping down from the
carriage,
she was stunned.  Her new home was
even more
spectacular
up close.  Smoothing
her hands
over the skirt of her l
ilac spotted traveling dress
then str
aighten
ing
her bonnet. 
She
watched as an aging man
hobbled
down the front steps to greet them.

“Master Declan,
Your G
race
.”  He bowed.  “May I offer my sincerest congratulations from the entire
household
?
” 
Gesturing towards the staff lined up behind him, then
clasp
ing
his hands in front of him.  “
This is s
uch a happy day i
n
deed.
” 
He turned
towards Poppy
and
bowed again.

“Archie is our family butler
and has been since I was a small boy.  He would be the one to speak with to gain any juicy tidbits about my past.”  He gave the old man a tender look.
 
“
May I present my wife, Poppy Trenowyth,
t
he new Duchess of Hawksley.”

Poppy’s famous smile and dimple appeared as she inclined her head in greeting.  “So nice to meet you
, Archie, is it?” She asked
with a sidelong glance at her husband.

“
Your
G
race
,
” Archibald gushed
.
“
We are all so pleased to have you at Allingham Park. 
We hope you will
always feel at home
here
.”

“How kind you are.
”
Poppy’s
mouth curved up
in a delighted smile
.
“Thank you so much for the
charming
reception.”
  She looked up and smiled at the rest of the staff.

Declan looked
pointedly at Archibald
and
asked, “Has th
e project been completed yet?”

Archie grinned
. 
“
Yes, Master Declan.  I believe you will be most pleased with the r
e
sults.”

Declan smiled, gently
slapp
ing
Archie on the back.

“Finley
and
the
d
uches
s
’
s
maid
,
Holly
,
will be arriving later today
by carriage
.” 
Then with a mysterious smile he said,
“We will take a tour around the garden before we go i
n
side.” 
He glanced at Archie once
again
.
“Have some lemonade placed on the terrace
,
if you will.  Ot
h
erwise, please do not di
s
turb us.”

Archie
bowed then walked back into the house with a large smile spread across his face.
  The dark days that shrouded Allingham
Park
were
finally
at a close.

Declan grabbed
Poppy’
s hand
, twining
their fingers
tightly
together pulling
her
around the side of the house
holding
open the wrought iron gate that led to the formal rose ga
r
dens.

Upon entering
, Poppy
gasped.  Never had she
beheld
anything so utterly amazing.  The
re was
strategic
discipline yet wildness at the same time.

As t
hey walked
through
row after row
of
roses
Poppy could understand how one could find this type of garden magnificent.  The perfume seduced her senses as she drew her hand free and spun slowly aro
und.  There were rambling roses everywhere she turned.

Thinking
of her little wildflower
garden
at Rosebriar, she felt a moments worth of loss but it quickly disappeared when she took in the beauty that currently surrounded her.  Drawn towards the perfect blooms Poppy
leaned in and
breathed deeply.

She glanced
up
and
saw the look of apprehension in Declan’s eyes.  Squeezing h
is hand, “It is breathtaking.  I canno
t imagine a more beautiful garden.
”

His face split into a pleased grin.  “I was hoping you would love it.  I know it is not the same as your little piece of heaven at Rosebriar.”

She spun
around once more. 
“Oh, but it is so much more.  I cannot
take it all in.  It is
most overwhelming.”

He took
her hand again
and
pulled her close to his side
kiss
ing
her forehead
as he tucked
her hand close to his side.  “Luckily you will have a lifetime to explore.”

“Was this your mother’s garden?”

He nodded.  “She loved roses
and he spoiled her until the day she died
.  My father kept the garden up after she died
and I’ve followed in his footsteps.
”

They walked in
companionable silence
, winding
t
heir way through the stone paths unti
l
Declan stopped
short of rounding the
next
corner at the back of the ga
r
den.

“I have a we
d
ding present for you.”

“
B
ut you have given me so much already
.
” 
She looked
down at the two
glittering
rings on her hand.

W
ith
a nervous hitch in his voice
he said
,
“
Well, t
his is a little more personal.  Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,”
Poppy
exclaimed
.

He pulled
out what looked to be an extra cravat
and
waved it around as
he said
,
“
I am going to blindfold you until we get there
.” 
He twisted
her words from their trip to her castle ruins.

“I cannot belie
ve that you are blindfolding me,” s
he said in mock outrage
with a low chuckle
.

“A blindfold is necessary for those who are perm
itted to view this sacred place,
” he
said a
s he wound the soft linen a few times around her eyes and tied a knot at the back of her head.

“I trusted you implicitly with my secret
hide-away
.”  A sulky pout transformed her
mouth.

He tucked her hand back against his side
and slowly guided her around the path.

“Believe
me
it is not a lack of trust
,
but my desire to intrigue and surprise that caused me to blindfold you today my dearest, sweetest love
.
”
H
e p
acified
her with a
n obvious
smile in his voice
, tenderly caressing
her hand
as they walked
.

A
fter a
no
ther few minutes of walking,
Declan stopped. 

“Now prepare yourself.” 
He i
ntentionally
t
ook
his time unwinding
the cravat from her eyes
.

His
arm swept
out. 
“I have heard it is all the rage to have one of these hidden on every country estate.”  He declared with a wide, wicked grin
,
c
ross
ing
his arms arrogantly over his chest.

“A castle ruin,”  s
he
cried
. 
Her
mouth h
ung
open in
awe
as
she slowly walked toward
s
the site as if in a trance.  An almost identical miniature version of her castle ruin lay sprawled in the corner of his rose garden.  Surrounded by a yew hedge and bordered by a moat filled with floating lil
y pads and large goldfish swi
m
ming
in
the
cool, clear water. 

“Well, I have been told that I am always in the first stare of fashion
,” he
said with
a smug smile.  “I would want that to also include my secret hide-away of course
.
”  Declan pointed out
,
repeating verbatim Poppy’s
own
words.  “There are only a few lucky ones, such as myself, that have the privilege of starting the latest trends
.
”  A laugh sp
rung
into his eyes.
“I pride m
y
self on b
e
ing all the crack.”   

T
ears shimmer
ed
in her eyes as she turned to look up into Declan’s
emerald depths.
“You are tossing my words ba
ck at me you clever, clever man.
  I knew I chose wisely when I married you.” 
Then with
a perplexed look on her face
she asked
, “When did you have time to have this built?” 

“I told you that I fell in love with you that first day.” 
He pushed
a wayward golden curl behind her ear.  “While you were worried that no one cared about you, the men were slaving
away
at the ruin g
ather
ing
some of
your precious
stones and boulders
, loading
them on a cart
for me
to
transport to
Allingham Park.”  He looked straight at her with a grin on his face.  “I want you to a
l
ways feel at home here with me.”

She stood
on her toes
,
placed a
trembling
hand on his shoulder while cupping his cheek with the other
and
whispered
reverently, “So, are you going to kiss me or what
,
Your Grace
?”

Wasting no more time, he wrapped his arms tightly around her tiny waist and lifted her high off the ground so that they were nose to nose.  “Your wish is my command,
Your Grace
.
I am
for
ever at your service
,
my l
ove.”