The Old Rose Garden

A Victorian Romance and Erotica short story
by Lady T. L. Jennings

Reality shifted back.

I opened my eyes. There was a moment of confusion when this reality and the other one bled together like wet watercolours before I was able to sort out which reality belonged to which. The fact that Tom was leaning over me, with a concerned expression in his pretty eyes, did not make things easier. I blushed when I remembered what we had done together.

Or what we will do, I corrected myself. It had, after all, not happened yet, and I was not even supposed to know his name.

“My lady? Can I get you anything? I think you may have fainted. Do you want me to run and get anyone from the house?” Tom asked in a worried voice that touched my heart. He was so beautiful, the way he leaned over me, and with the magnolia tree above him, I could not help but smile.

“No, thank you,” I said and slowly shook my head. “I am perfectly fine, thank you.”

He looked at me a little bit uncertainly, as if he did not quite believe me, but then he shyly smiled back at me.

*

Epilogue

That summer the roses in the old rose garden changed their colours.

It started little by little at first; however, by the end of the summer, all the previously white roses had turned into all the shades of red, pink, peach, and yellow that you can imagine.

People thought it was because of the fertilizers that had been added to the soil or that it was because of the coal mining in the southern parts of Yorkshire or perhaps that there was something in the water.

No one never really knew why the colours of the roses changed, but I secretly always thought that it was because of Tom, who seemed to have an odd gift when it came to flowers and making things grow and come to life.

I did indeed marry my beloved Tom the following summer, just as I had seen in my vision. Stuart, my mother, and pretty much everyone else at Halifax and down the village thought I was rather mad, to be honest, but no one tried to prevent the wedding. Everyone thought I was a little bit strange to begin with; however, as the years went by, people got used to us living together in the small cottage next to the rose garden, even though I was, in fact, a lady and Tom was a simple gardener. I even heard the maids whisper about it once and heard them say they thought it was rather romantic.

And even though I married well beneath my station, I lived a very happy life together with Tom. Our first daughter, Lily, was born the following spring after our wedding at the same time as the first roses started to bloom in the old rose garden.

***

~ THE END ~

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Copyright © 2013 Lady T. L. Jennings

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