Chapter 15

The garden could not have been more different from the tragedy it had been just a few days ago. What was once a walk through misery and despair had been transformed into a thing of beauty; a true paradise that made it impossible not to feel some sense of elation at the sight of. It created a mood of vibrance, of ease, and companionship, softening the tension that may have existed between the pair, for the beauty that surrounded them was something to behold.

"What do you think?" Virtue beamed at Sebastian as the two walked side by side. Their hands touched as they walked but Sebastian didn't move to take her hand, even though Virtue found herself longing he would. "It is really coming along, is it not?"

"Much swifter than I anticipated," Sebastian agreed. "You have orchestrated a marvel here."

"We," Virtue corrected with a sly smile.

"You have orchestrated a marvel here, V."

Virtue giggled at that. "You know what I meant! We have done a wonderful job. Please do not discount yourself."

Sebastian grinned. "I am afraid I haven't done anything. The credit is entirely yours."

"No, no," Virtue chided lightly, clicking her tongue in gentle reproof. "You are not getting off that easily, Your Grace. This was a collective endeavor..." She matched his grin. "Even if I had to drag you along, kicking and screaming."

"Pah! I wasn't that bad," Sebastian scoffed.

"You were worse," she pointed out rightly. "But I suppose you did not take into account how truly stubborn I can be when I set my mind to a task. I am sure you thought that when I asked you to join me in this endeavor, you would be able to resume your activities of standing in the tower watching me all day, feigning you were helping."

Sebastian paused, his cheeks flushing bright red. "That was one time..."

"That I know of," she countered, folding her arms. He went to speak but she cut him off, enjoying the way it seemed to nettle and delight him all the same. "But we make a good team when we cease bickering like an old married couple, I think. Would you not agree?"

To this, Sebastian smiled, and again, his hand grazed hers but again, he did not make any attempts to take it. "I suppose I do. It is lucky you are so darn stubborn then."

Like the garden they strolled through, Virtue and Sebastian's relationship was slowly but progressively blossoming. It had begun as a bleak and disheartening sight, daunting and seemingly beyond redemption. Yet, through five days of gentle nurturing and patience, both the garden and their relationship had transformed remarkably, becoming almost unrecognizable.

Virtue's patience had been key here. Seeing her husband now for the man he could be, rather than that which he pretended at, she had eased him toward her like one trying to lure a skittish cat to a pale of milk—a slow, steady, and understanding touch. No sudden movements. No over-the-top displays of affection—even if she wanted to at times. Warmth and honesty only, a kind and open heart, a willingness to be accepting of some of his more peculiar tendencies.

It had started with the garden. For five days now, the two had worked together to bring it to life. As he had suggested originally, Sebastian had hired a team of men to do so for them, for the job was large in scale and untenable for two people to manage on their own. But Virtue and Sebastian had been there to direct and give orders, to make decisions, to ensure that what came to pass was a shared vision that they could both admire as one.

"I am not quite so sure about the roses though." Virtue came to a stop by a row of rose bushes that ran by the base of the walls that encircled the primary garden.

"No?" Sebastian joined her, peering at the blooms as though he actually cared one way or the other. She was certain he didn't but his effort in pretending to care meant the world to her.

"Roses are so... so commonplace," she shrugged. "Every garden has them."

"Is that not a reason to keep them, then? If they are so fashionable."

She rolled her eyes playfully and gave his arm a gentle slap—something she would not have dared do just days earlier—but now felt completely natural doing. "I don't want the fashionable, Sebastian. I want different. Intriguing. I want our garden to captivate visitors, to make them pause and admire, wondering how we ever came up with such an idea."

"I suspect you simply wish to keep the foreman busier," he teased.

"Perhaps," she grinned, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at him. It was a half-truth. Rather, she wanted to prolong her own daily encounters with her husband.

He chuckled and glanced around the garden in thought. "I'll have a word with the foreman later," Sebastian assured her. "See what he thinks."

"We," she quickly corrected. "We will have a word with him later."

He smiled at her. It was only a half-smile for he still wore his mask whenever they were together, but it reached his eyes, and, oh, how she wished that he might remove it one day so she could see his smile in full. Each morning she awaited him at breakfast, she spent wondering if today would be the day he felt comfortable enough to reveal his face. Each day she hoped that he might finally discard the mask, showing her the true man beneath.

Five days had passed, yet there was still no indication that he planned to remove it anytime soon. She knew that he would eventually. She was certain that with each passing day, he was inching closer to trusting her enough to do so. His personality was beginning to reveal itself. His true nature was shining in a way it never had. But that god-forsaken mask... so long as he wore it, she knew she would never fully see the man she had married, and their marriage would retain an element of pretense.

Still smiling down at her, Virtue's eyes briefly flicked to his hand dangling there beside her own. So close they were almost touching...

He was far too careful around her. That was the problem. Even now that he could talk freely without acting stiff and awkward, he seemed afraid to touch her as if she were a porcelain doll and he worried he might break her. But she yearned to be broken. Images of him in the tub that night, his naked body, his bare face... they still drifted through her mind's eye whenever he was near.

Taking a chance, Virtue held his smile as she drifted her hand to his, lightly brushing his knuckles and then wrapping her fingers around his—

"What else?" He cleared his throat, abruptly pulling his hand back and turning away from her to scan across the garden. "You mentioned something about the pathway around the side of the castle?"

Her heart sank slightly. "Yes," she sighed, frowning up at her husband, wondering what she had to do to get him to touch her without shrinking back. "I wasn't sure what you wanted the path lain with."

"The same stone as we used here—" He gestured to the path they stood on. "Or had you something different in mind? Knowing your taste for the unfashionable, I suspect you might," he added with a laugh.

At least he was trying. At least they were talking. His temper, too, seemed to have mellowed—he no longer bristled when she pushed him but appeared to enjoy their teasing exchanges. Yet, his persistent reluctance to engage with her as a husband should left a glaring void in their unorthodox relationship, a barrier that kept their marriage from blossoming fully.

"I don't mind this stone," she grumbled. "But... here, let me show you." She stepped next to him, her hand dangling right there for him to take. And his eyes, they flicked down to it, he seemed to consider, only to nod and start down the path on his own.

"I cannot wait to see what you have in mind," Sebastian called over his shoulder as he strode ahead.

It had only been five days, Virtue reminded herself. Such a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things. Yet she knew that if she wanted this marriage to progress, if she wished to see her husband transform into his true self, she was going to have to take further action.

It would be a risk. What came to mind in that moment... there was infinite potential for failure. Worse still, if her efforts did not unfold as she hoped, she feared that the temper her husband had managed to keep at bay throughout the week might unleash its full fury upon her, a tempest she had not braved since their very first encounter. Nevertheless, it was a gamble she needed to take.

In the storybooks she cherished, the heroines often faced daunting challenges, but it was for that reason that when they succeeded, the victory was all the sweeter. And tonight, Virtue would taste such a victory. And hopefully, if things went the way she planned, maybe she would taste her husband too...