(A/N): We're back in 1967 with Amelia and the gardeners, because it's been 32 chapters since we left, and I thought it was time. Of course, it was a bit difficult writing a follow up to that particular chapter, considering the circumstances that surrounded my writing it, but in the end, I give you... this fucking thing.

October 19th, 1967

Amelia

They were all quite nice to me, the gardeners. Some were nicer than others- more gracious- but none were rude, or even particularly dismissive. I don't know whether it was because they respected me- my role, or simply my sex- or because they were all worried that if they were disrespectful to me, they would be unintentionally burning bridges with my 'mysterious suitor'.

One brave soul started the chain, leaving his boots by the end of the bench with their laces wrapped around the neck of them, and from that point onward, each man dropped his own footwear in a line following on from that pair. Aldin took advantage of my distraction while this was happening to slip his feet back out of his boots, and to slide out from in front of me in order to put his other- nicer- shoes back on. Idly, I wondered what was making him more uncomfortable- our proximity, the fact that Annette was watching us, or the high likelihood that my partner was also close by. Speaking of which...

Nolan practically collapsed on the other side of the bench, his boots in his lap, before he raised his narrowed eyes to the man at my side. "Lovett, give me your brush." Logan immediately snorted, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" He asked wryly. "Trying to stake your claim, big guy?" Men all around the room eyed Nolan with varying degrees of subtlety, both curiously and warily- and maybe a little enviously, in more than a few cases.

Nolan, for his part, scoffed; it would have been a lot more believable, if I didn't know him so well- if I could remember off the top of my head, a time where he had ever scoffed, in the past. "Certainly not- but if you're going to be taking a shot at being the next stallion pulled from the stable, the least I can do is throw my hat into the ring." If it had been in any way real- if this had been early days, before we had gotten together, when I was still futilely trying to convince myself he was beneath me- it probably would have made me blush, but now? Well, it still almost made me blush, but for very different reasons.

He was, in fact, trying to stake his claim, but doing so in a way that- hopefully- didn't reveal our relationship... or at the very least, the extent of it. Logan didn't look convinced in the slightest, choosing to eye Nolan's brush in my hand, instead. "Maybe if you hadn't been so damn chivalrous, you wouldn't be in this position right now." Somehow, I felt like he wasn't just talking about brushes anymore, and was more than likely making a comment on our relationship. "Although I have to admit, I'm impressed." This wasn't anywhere near as ambiguous, and Nolan shot him a look much darker than I had previously thought him capable of.

"With my 'chivalry'?" He said, his tone just as dark as his gaze. "Y'know, you can do that, too. Turn your life around and be a gentleman, instead of..." He arched an eyebrow at Logan as if to challenge his earlier cocked one. "What was it that you like to call yourself, again? A man of infinite options?" It was a clear warning, which was exceedingly funny to me. Nolan was letting me know that Logan had a reputation- as if I wasn't already well aware, both from his own previous anecdotes, and the rampant gossip circuit.

Logan's smirk was extremely self-satisfied, not at all embarrassed by any of this. "Something like that," He practically purred. "Who knows," He said, crossing his arms over his chest in a way I didn't doubt was specifically designed to draw my attention to his biceps, and the way they had clearly benefited greatly from the constant manual labor his job demanded. I didn't look directly at them- more because I had been taught not to, my entire life, than any attempt to soothe Nolan's jealousy- but Logan's smirk only increased, and Nolan's near-scowl followed suit. "Maybe she doesn't want another 'gentleman'- maybe she wants someone a little more... worldly. Experienced." In other words, better in bed. Nolan visibly chafed at that, even as I rolled my eyes.

"If I wanted anything other than what I currently have, I would have sought it out long before this point." Logan wasn't deterred in the slightest- probably because, as I suspected, he wasn't actually trying to snare me, but instead just trying to rile Nolan up, and get him to admit that we were together. Nolan, however, frowned slightly- only to jump as I threw his brush back at him, hitting him softly in the chest.

He blinked, his mouth dropping open, and his hands came up to catch it as he flashed me an almost betrayed look. "I- Don't you-?" I purposely turned away from him, toward Aldin, who was scrutinising us all rather carefully.

"I assume you'll be heading out with your men soon, to tackle that dead oak," Slowly, he nodded his confirmation. "Which I assume also means you won't be needing your brush." I paused for a second, giving him a pointed look. "I think it's in both of our best interests to perpetuate our Mistress's misconception that we're-" I cut myself off as understanding dawned on his face, his eyes darting to Annette for a split second as if he couldn't help himself. When they returned to me, he looked begrudgingly impressed, as if he was surprised that I was so cunning- he shouldn't be, given my background.

"And you think using my brush will do that?" I met his eyes and very intentionally shrugged.

"No, not really- but it can't hurt." Luckily, Aldin seemed to agree, because he fetched his brush from his locker for me. It was telling, the fact that he hadn't ordered one of his men to get it; I don't think most of them would have been open to it, but the young one to my left looked like he would have relished the chance to prove himself, so at least in this case, Aldin had chosen not to abuse that desire. I turned to him- that young gardener- and when he saw me looking, he jolted slightly, but didn't try to hide the fact that he had been staring at me openly. "What's your name?"

He blinked, then his eyes goggled a bit before his mouth fell open. "I- Curtis, ma'am. Spencer Curtis." It fit him. It was a boyish name to match a boyish face, and a boyish demeanor. I shifted on top of the knee pillow he had given me, but when I opened my mouth, Logan spoke before I could.

"And I'm Logan Lovett- but I'm sure you already knew that." I didn't feel at all bad about rolling my eyes at him, and Logan only laughed, even as I turned my attention back to Spencer.

He was still staring at me, looking almost morbidly fascinated as he watched me resist Logan's- admittedly considerable- charms. "It's nice to meet you, Spencer. My name is Amelia-" His cheeks flushed, which threw me enough to make me stop speaking before I was really finished.

"I- I know, ma'am. I'm- I've heard a lot about you." He had? ...from who? I glanced at Nolan, but he was keeping his eyes off of me- was that because he didn't want to draw attention to our relationship, or because he felt guilty for talking to Spencer about me? On my way back to Spencer, I felt Logan's eyes on me- his knowing smirk- and knew he'd caught that my gaze had immediately gone to Nolan after Spencer had said he had heard about me. I had given away- at least to Logan- that I thought Nolan was the one most in a position to talk about me, but I suppose it didn't matter, since he was clearly already convinced that he knew what was going on. Unfortunately, he just so happened to be correct.

"If you don't mind me asking," I started carefully, lest I scare the boy into silence. "Who told you about me?" Maybe I was jeopardizing things unnecessarily, but if it wasn't Nolan... I had to know.

"Oh, um..." He flushed again, and then rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "The owls, ma'am."

(A/N): I told you I would tell you! His name is Spencer Curtis, and I love this little weirdo!