Sapphic Seduction

The Lady Gardener-1

The Lady Gardener

Verity’s phone buzzed in her pocket, reminding her of an angry—and insistent—bee. Sighing, she pulled the device out and looked at the screen. Rolling her eyes, she rejected the call, then pressed the off button. f**k her family and their petty dramas—she did enough for them, and they never appreciated it. Let them deal with their own s**t for a change. She’d come here for some peace and solitude, and that was what she was damn well going to get.

After showing her membership card to the kindly old lady at the kiosk, Verity passed through the gate and into the gardens of Biddulph Grange. The beautiful stately home, sadly, was private, but the stunning landscaped gardens were open to the public. The place was already off the beaten track—nestled as it was, deep in the Staffordshire countryside—but once Verity stepped inside the huge gardens, she felt a million miles from anywhere.

Closing her eyes momentarily, she pulled in a deep breath through her nostrils, and released it from her mouth. Already she felt better, the stress and irritation seeping out of her and disappearing into the gravelled path beneath her feet. This place was her refuge, her sanctuary. She never told anyone where she went when she disappeared off for a few hours every couple of weeks—more often if her family was being more difficult than usual—and that was the beauty of it. No one knew where she was, no one could bother her. All she had was herself and the cacophony of nature within the garden walls, and that was precisely how she wanted it.

Letting out a contented sigh this time, she shut out all the unpleasant thoughts, emptying her mind, and concentrated only on what was around her. What she could see, what she could hear, what she could smell.

Her favourite thing about the gardens—aside from their being her escape—was the fact they seemed to look different every time she visited. Nature took its course: trees and bushes grew, plants flowered, leaves turned and dropped. New plants were introduced, old or diseased ones were removed.

The wildlife was wonderful, too. A huge variety of birds fluttered, swooped and hopped around, tweeting, twittering and singing. Butterflies and squirrels also made frequent appearances. They never failed to make Verity smile, and today was no exception. A further weight was lifted from her as her lips curved into a grin, and she breathed in deeply through her nostrils. The air smelled fresh, yet something lingered, hinting at something to come.

Verity tilted her head back and looked up at the sky. Hmm, that could be it. There was a thick covering of cloud, not particularly ominous-looking, but then that was British weather for you. It could, and did, change in the blink of an eye.

Shrugging, Verity carried on walking. She was here now—she wasn’t going to leave just in case it rained. Even if it did, so what? A little rain never killed anyone. It could actually be kind of refreshing.

Putting one foot in front of the other, she followed her nose through the landscape, admiring everything she saw, and exchanging polite nods and smiles with the handful of people she met. And it was only a handful. Perhaps others had checked the weather forecast before coming out and had been deterred. More fool them.

On the other hand, though, she thanked them. It meant she had the place pretty much to herself. Smiling, she allowed her imagination to run away with itself, painting a picture of a scenario where Verity owned the stately home currently hidden from view, and was wandering in her own private gardens. Every tree, every bush, every flower, every blade of grass was on her land, and she loved it. Having such an amazing place to call her own... well, she knew how lucky she was.

She was snapped out of her grand and wonderful fantasy by something that didn’t look quite right. Blinking, she focussed on whatever it was over to her left-hand side that seemed to stand out like a sore thumb. She frowned and stepped closer, still not entirely sure what she was seeing. Though it definitely wasn’t a thumb, sore or otherwise.

When her brain caught up, rearranging the shiny red rubber with blue polka dots from this mysterious thing to the pair of wellington boots it actually was, Verity gasped. s**t—someone had fallen over and landed in the undergrowth! All she could see now was the footwear, and a portion of the dark-green trousers tucked into them.

Hurrying over, she fumbled in her pocket for her mobile, thinking to ring an ambulance, or a doctor at the very least. However, the restrictive material of her jeans would not give up the device as she moved. Swearing to herself, Verity decided to check on the person first—likely a woman, in such funky wellies, and they were too big for a child—and see if she could make her more comfortable before she tried again for the phone.

Her heart pounded as she left the path and stepped onto the grass, then over to the dirt border. She was probably damaging something, but figured helping an injured person was way more important than preserving grass and rare plants.

A slight movement of the red and blue boots reassured and panicked Verity in equal measure. Although reassured that the person was able to move, she panicked that doing so could be injuring them further. “H-hello?” she called out. “It’s okay, please don’t move. I’ve come to help you. Just relax, I’m here to help.”

She was now mere inches away, but the thickness of the bushes meant she could still only see the boots and now a bit more of the green trousers. She stepped onto the mud, then crouched down beside the feet, carefully pushing the foliage aside so she could see what the hell was going on, and figure out what she was going to do about it.

The view opened up, and Verity, far from seeing a helpless person lying on the soil, was presented with a green-clad arse reversing hurriedly in her direction.

“Hey!” she said, letting go of the branches and shifting back so abruptly she ended up on her own arse on the grass. “Bloody hell, be careful! Are you all right?”

As the body continued emerging, Verity slowly came to realise her mistake. Dirt-covered trousers, a filthy black waterproof coat, gloved hands, and a head topped with a floppy hat were soon visible. Slim white cables trailing from each of the woman’s ears and disappearing into the collar of her coat explained why Verity hadn’t been heard calling out, or received a response.

This woman hadn’t hurt herself. She was a f*****g gardener!

Frozen in her uncomfortable position, Verity wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Perhaps as revenge for her landing on it so hard. But she had no such luck. Instead, she heard, “What on earth are you doing down there? Are you all right?”

Struck dumb, Verity nodded and took the now glove-free hand that was offered to her, allowing the other woman to help her up off the grass. “I-I’m fine,” she finally forced out, breaking the brief eye contact and making a show of brushing herself down, though it was probably only her bottom that was dirty. Her cheeks blazed, and she took a step back, hoping to beat a hasty retreat.

“Well, I’m glad. But it still doesn’t explain what you were doing down there.” The ear buds now hung down the woman’s front, and she was apparently poised, awaiting a reply.

Verity shook her head. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

Narrowing her eyes, the gardener said, “Try me.”

Christ. Just to add insult to injury, it seemed she was now suspected of some kind of wrongdoing, too. “I-I was over there,” she pointed to where she’d come from, “and I saw your wellies poking out from the bushes. I panicked because I thought someone had fallen and hurt themselves. I came over to try to help. I did call out to you, to see if you were all right. But all I could see were the boots and a little bit of your trousers. I had no idea what was going on. Much less that you were the bloody gardener and remained oblivious to what I was up to because you had headphones in! I crouched down and pushed the bushes aside so I could see you better, and the next thing I know you’re shuffling back towards me. I shifted out of the way and ended up tumbling over on my bum.”

It seemed her story was too amusing to be anything but true, because the gardener grinned widely, then clapped a hand over her mouth momentarily. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you, honestly. But I guess I can see why you thought that. Thank you so much for coming to check on me, but it really wasn’t necessary. All I was doing was fighting with a particularly vicious weed.” She pointed at an uprooted plant at her feet, then widened her eyes. “Are you all right? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

Twisting to try to look at her bottom, Verity brushed again at the seat of her jeans. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you. Just a bit of muck and grass stains, I think. Nothing that won’t come out in the washing machine.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad. I feel bad enough as it is without thinking you’ve hurt yourself or ruined your clothes, too.”

“No, I’m good. And I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

Silence hung between them for a few moments. Then Verity took another step back. “Right, well, I’d better get going, anyway. Nice to meet you.” She turned to go, but the other woman’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey, wait. No need to rush off. I’m just about to go on my tea break. Want to join me? Perhaps a brew will make up for it?” Her green eyes—apt, for a gardener, Verity thought—sparkled with humour and intelligence, and for the first time, Verity realised that, underneath the grubby gardening gear and large hat was a very attractive woman.

Still, an excuse was on the tip of her tongue—she had come here to be alone, after all—but fate intervened. Or the British weather did, anyway. A handful of fat raindrops fell onto her, followed by a few more. Then, the heavens truly opened.

In milliseconds the rain was torrential, falling so hard it bounced off the ground.

“Come on,” the gardener said, grabbing Verity’s hand and tugging her along. “We’ve got to get out of this or we’ll be soaked to the skin!”

As she jogged along behind the other woman, Verity came to the conclusion it was too late. Already her jeans felt moulded to her flesh, her feet were decidedly damp, and she dreaded to think how her hair and makeup looked. Still, it was stupid to just stand in a downpour like this and get even wetter. Hopefully the place where the gardener was heading for her tea break was nearby.

Soon, the other woman stopped in front of a large outbuilding and began rooting in her coat pocket for the key. Brandishing it with a cry of triumph, she then hurriedly opened the door and ushered Verity in, following quickly behind. “Bloody hell,” she said, slamming the door on the inclement weather and flicking a switch beside her on the wall.

The dim room they were in illuminated as the bulb pinged into life, and Verity looked around in curiosity. It was a mish-mash of things—part staff-room, part store-room, the area contained a kettle, fridge, table and chairs, as well as gardening tools, seeds, and bags of compost.

“Welcome to my domain,” the gardener said, then laughed. Striding over to where the kettle sat on a worktop, she switched it on and removed two mugs from a cupboard. “By the way, I’m Beatrice, though I prefer to be called Bea. Tea or coffee?”

“Tea, please. And it’s nice to meet you, Bea. I’m Verity.”

“Nice to meet you, too. How do you take your tea?”

“White, three sugars. Thanks.”

As the kettle started to boil, Bea busied herself with taking off her hat and coat, hanging them up, then moving over to switch on an oil-filled radiator. She wheeled it as close to the table as the electric cabling would allow, then gestured to Verity. “Sit down, sweetheart, and try to warm up. Can I take your coat?”