O, Fortuna

Chapter 17

Rosa served the evening meal in the dining room and seemed to take great pleasure in being able to do her work in a grander formal setting, even if its diners did not quite manage to match the decor, scruffy and fatigued from their various labours. The housekeeper also appeared to have great delight in having Deanna home once again and Grace could easily understand this. Deanna brought light to any room, any situation, with her wit and conversation, even with her two staid relatives seated either side of her, she seemed determined to ensure that their party remained light-hearted and amicable.

His sister's presence made Liam a little more animated but no more attentive to Grace conversationally, though she caught him watching her more than once. She had no idea what she could say or do that would turn him back to how he was the previous evening, when they had spoken before saying goodnight but after what Deanna have said about her brother, Grace had to assumed that this version of Liam that was sitting across from her at the dining table was probably the one he would showing her for the rest of her visit to Faridah. She certainly did not hold out much hope that he would agree to the proposed late night drinks on the front veranda, not after this morning. No doubt he would declare himself too busy and go and bury his head in something mechanical out in the shed.

Having outdone herself once again with the meal - veal cordon bleu, then blueberry cheesecake - Rosa eagerly led the other ladies out to the greenhouse for Grace's tour, leaving the men to deal with the dinner dishes. Though the sun was now but a shimmering disc low on the western horizon, its presence was still very much felt inside the expansive greenhouse, the humidity stiflingly high and condensation dripping from above, finding Grace more than once. She moved between the six well-established citrus and stone fruit trees that might have been scratching at the roof were it not for judicious pruning. There were two long rows of lusciously-twisting grape, kiwi and passionfruit vines while under them in the moist earth grew a selection of berry bushes, all of which were showing signs of baring their fruit up for picking. 

Down the west side of the greenhouse was a small workspace with tools and dozens of native plants, many of them merely shoots and saplings that Deanna was nurturing through their infancy and would eventually be transplanted out onto the property. Sitting the length of the northern wall were Rosa's endless array of vegetables, fruits and herbs, some in pots and tubs along a shelf, others in the earth below, more hanging in baskets from the roof. Along the cooler eastern side were a vast selection of flowers, bright heliconias, hibiscuses, torch gingers and begonias in dozens of colours that might have overwhelmed the soft elegance of orchids and lilies had the latter not had pride of place on the topmost shelf.

Grace inhaled heavily, the varied scents of the greenhouse were not all pleasant and she did believe she could withstand the humidity too much longer without passing out but it was all so beautiful. She turned slowly to take it all in, the verdant life that breathed and surrounded her, the abundance and diversity of greens, the intensity of the many other colours and the sparkle of moisture that lined the roof and was being caught by the last vestiges of the sun. So caught up in marvel of her surroundings, Grace was unaware of both Rosa and Deanna observing her and it was a long moment before she realised the latter was addressing her.

"Sorry, what was that you said?" Deanna sniggered.

"So you approve then?" Grace rather self-consciously smiled and nodded.

"How could anyone not? I don't know that I have seen a collection like this outside a botanical garden but this.." she trailed off, gesturing toward the trees, the vines, the saplings, "it seems like everything anyone could ever want in a garden, out of life! To breath, to eat, splendour!" She gesticulated toward the flowers "That was June's work, yes?" Deanna nodded emphatically