Courting the Ward (NobodysAngel x AutumnQueen)

[Autumn Queen]

Continued from Here


Duke Liam brushed his long blond hair from his eyes and smiled easily at Rihayne. "Me? In the lecture halls? I'm afraid not. I've never really had a mind for the things of the earth," he admitted. "I have more of a black thumb; everything I tend to winds up dying, I'm afraid."

He reached forward and brushed her hair away from her face. "You look like you're absolutely glowing today. I take it that the lecture went well for you?" He offered her his arm as they finally came close enough to be walking arm in arm. "I had a few of my servants set a table for us by the river. I hope you don't mind; the dew is still damp and I didn't want to chance you catching a cough from the wet grass."

The handsome nobleman beamed at his companion. "So tell me; what did you find the most interesting about today's lecture?"

 

[NobodysAngel80]

She blushed a little and laughed at his description of himself as having a black thumb. She rather loved gardens and the kitchen garden behind the shop was mostly reserved for cooking herbs, though she'd seen fit to set aside a tiny patch for her own limited herbal studies. Of course, she couldn't help but feel the blush deepen as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, having come loose from the pins that usually kept her hair somewhat manageable. "Aah, you should have joined us! It would have been quite nice to have you there."

She smiled a little, considering his question a moment. "Well I have to say that the applications of magwort root for inducing sleep, as well as for numbing the flesh in a small area was certainly fascinating. I know some of the beginning potions texts extolled it's virtues in sleeping draughts but I had no idea it was so powerful in it's concentrated form to allow a person to be rendered unconscious for medical purposes. Why, the surgical applications alone are staggering! So many procedures are possible if one doesn't have to worry about one's patient going into shock on the table from pain. It could be an amazing advancement, moving medicine ahead by leaps and bounds to be able to do that! Not to mention how much more humane it would be for a soldier to not have to endure watching and feeling and being completely cognizant for having a limb removed or an arrow or bolt dug out."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness regarding the wet grass and smiled, taking his arm and letting him lead her towards the table he'd had set. "That sounds lovely, actually. I don't get to venture up this way often, so it's nice to take in the scenery." Her smile dimmed a little, took on a more wistful tone. "Hopefully my parents can come home soon. I'd be able to come here much more often. Apparently the funds for my continuing studies are put aside and waiting for me. It's just a matter of whenever my grandmother is recovered enough to not need care anymore."

It was habit more than anything that made her cling to the old story; anyone that knew her family knew why her parents were gone, and she was fairly certain, being not human himself, the Duke knew the real reason why they weren't there. At the same time, all that anyone ever really had in times like this were the polite, pretty lies they told each other and themselves and she wasn't the sort to smash the polite foundation of society to rail against the unfairness of it all. "So what have you done to keep yourself occupied of late?" She asked, interested in how he spent his days.