Cottage by the Sea (64 page)

   "Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes troubled. "Are you absolutely positive that
this
Blythe Barton belongs on a duded-up spread like this? Because Chloe"—she silenced Luke before he could interrupt—"Chloe believes it's only a matter of time before it dawns on you how 'unsuitable' I am for your kind of life."

   "Chloe can be an utter ass on occasion!" Luke retorted, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "My old way of life… this relic of a place… had no purpose before you came. The notion of a grand seigneur living on the labor of others is dead! I've known that for quite some time, but I couldn't for the life of me sort out what to do about it."

   "Then I arrived at your doorstep, kicking up dust," Blythe intervened, "and proposed the risky scheme of creating Barton Hall Nurseries. But there's no guarantee it will work, Luke," she added, "and if it doesn't, are you sure that I'm—"

   "I am not proposing we spend a life together merely to form a business partnership," Luke insisted. "If we fail with the nurseries, it would be vastly disappointing to us both."

   Then he grinned slyly and added, "However, the consolation prize of you and a new baby remains pretty spectacular, as far as I'm concerned." He reached across the rim of the bathtub and deposited a dab of bubbles on the tip of her nose. "Suitable? Who's better suited to my overheated sensibilities than you, my beautiful, talented, sex-crazed darling woman! There's not a house or garden or any figure one could name that equals the importance of having you in my life, Blythe."

   "But, Luke…" she protested, not quite sounding convinced.

   "We're going to be a
family.
Do you have
any idea ho
w much that means to me after what Richard and I have been through?"

   It was Blythe's turn to close her eyes for a moment and offer up a silent prayer of gratitude. Along with everything else, Luke had worked a miracle and restored the most important thing in the world to her.

   "When my grandmother died," she said softly, "I remember staring at her face just before they closed the coffin. I thought to myself, 'I'll never have anyone again in my life who loved me so much.' Then when my father remarried and sold the ranch it seemed I'd forever lost all hope of being part of a real family again." Blythe extended her hand again and brushed the back of her fingers along the contours of Luke's jaw. "Now I know… Grandma Barton was the one who prepared me for finding you."

   Luke nodded, his smile now tinged with melancholy.

   "I was thinking just before you came through that door

that dear, kind Lindsay had taught me much of what I needed to learn before it would have been right with you."

   He raised her right hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he added solemnly, "And now I must ask you to take off your jumper, please."

   His seductive tone of voice made her flush with excitement.

   "As Grandma Barton would say: Buster, you're mad, bad, and dangerous to know," Blythe countered, glancing at him sideways.

   "How flattering. That's precisely how the poet Lord Byron was described by his admirers," Luke replied indulgently. "He was related to the original family who built Caerhays, you know… the next castle down the road."

   "How bizarre," was all Blythe could reply as Luke arched an eyebrow expectantly. "Grandma Barton used that phrase all the time. She'd even say it to the bulls on the ranch!"

   "Well, that's amazing, but now do as I say, please," he commanded in a cool, authoritative tone. 'That's a good girl." He nodded as she finally managed to stand up from her chair and pull her cable-knit sweater over her head. "Come, come! Shed your Wellies and knickers, if you don't mind."

   Blythe kicked off her boots, shimmied out of her blue jeans and panties, and stood beside the tub that was overflowing with fragrant bubbles. Once again she felt awkward and shy. She found she was shivering and peered down at the goose bumps that were pimpling her flesh.

   "Come closer," Luke said, his voice raw with an emotion she had never heard before.

   In one graceful movement he rose out of the water and knelt on the bottom of the tub, pulling her body hard against his chest. He wrapped his moist arms around her backside as he laid his cheek against her abdomen and closed his eyes. After a long moment of silence Blythe cradled his head in her hands, threading her fingers through his blueblack hair. She nearly wept when he planted a tender kiss on her belly.

   "Hello in there," he murmured against her skin. "Your mummy and daddy are very happy you're on your way."

   Blythe then sank to her knees beside the bathtub as Luke studiously began to scoop daubs of foam and deposit them on her left breast, then her right. Then he shook the froth remaining on his hand into the snowy mass that seethed on the surface of the steaming bathwater.

   Brazenly she leaned forward to kiss him in a manner that was designed to get her into serious trouble. Eventually he unclasped her hands from his various extremities and pointed to the bathtub's curled porcelain rim that separated their torsos.

   "Got a problem, Englishman?" Blythe asked with feigned innocence.

   "Actually, quite a big problem," he said, his blue eyes turning the color of smoke.

   "Well, then… got any room in there for a close relative?" she inquired as a mischievous grin began to spread across her lips.

   "Climb in, cowgirl!" Luke commanded gruffly. "I want to get my hands on you before the water gets cold."

The Barton Hall estate, with its splendid turreted castle, is situated on the south coast of Cornwall between Mevagissey and the River Luney, which rises near Hewaswater.
Hours:

   April–September: 10:00–18:00 Tuesday through Sunday

   October–March: 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–16:00 Wednesday

   through Sunday

   Closed: December and selected Barton-Teague family

   anniversaries

A Private Garden Becomes a Public Treasure

   In the autumn several years ago, Lucas Garrett Barton Trevelyan Teague, a widower, married an American descendant of the original Bartons of Barton Hall, Ms. Blythe Barton of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Brentwood, California. Upon their union, the couple joined their names, becoming the Barton-Teagues. On Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day), Barton Hall Gardens and Nurseries, Ltd.—located on the castle grounds near Gorran Haven—was first opened to the public, along with a second location on the A390, St. Austell Road at the Charlestown crossroads.

   The busy Barton-Teagues now have three children: Richard, aged twelve (whose mother was the late Lindsay Wingate of Mevagissey); Matthew, two; and Blythe Lucinda, born earlier this year during a March gale.

The Barton-Trevelyan-Teague Legacy

   Barton Hall and its properties were joined with the adjacent Trevelyan House lands through the marriage in 1789 of the heiress Blythe Barton to Christopher "Kit" Trevelyan. It was an unfruitful union, however, and the properties passed to Trevelyan's first cousin, Garrett Teague (1772-1848), in 1794, whose line has owned them ever since.

   This first Teague owner prospered during the Napoleonic Wars when the demand for agricultural goods was high. His son, Richard Garrett Teague, was a member of Parliament for the region from 1827 through 1840, as was the current owner's grandfather, the Rt. Hon. Charles Garrett Teague, from 1940 through 1952. Recently Mr. Lucas Barton-Teague was elected president of the Cornwall County Council.

   Among many distinguished members of this ancient Cornish family is Ennis Trevelyan, a well-regarded seascape artist in the late eighteenth century. His paintings still hang in the Hall and in Painter's Cottage and can be viewed during the Annual Fete when the house is open to the public (see below).

The Origin and Development of the Garden

   The grandson of the first Garrett Teague developed a keen interest in gardening, and in 1850 began planting some of the thirty to forty species of azaleas and rhododendrons that were then being introduced to Britain from Northern India. Many of these plants thrived in the Cornish soil and climate and grew to be as high as forty feet tall.

The opening up of China to the West between 1850 and

1930 permitted the Teagues' descendants to gather dozens of new varieties of rhododendrons and transplant them to what is now considered to be one of the finest privately owned gardens in Britain.

   Many economies in the management of Barton Hall were made in the wake of two world wars, government-imposed death duties, and various destructive gales. Trevelyan House, a derelict, was pulled down in 1955.

   The Barton-Teagues have a great fondness for the writings of the local novelist, Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989). As a result, hybridized rhododendrons named in the author's honor have been developed here under the guidance of newly appointed head gardener John Quiller. Most spectacular are: the magnificent scarlet "Rebecca," "Frenchman's Creek" (purple), "Cousin Rachel" (white), and "Jamaica Inn" (coral). All are on display in the gardens and are available for purchase.

Barton Hall Educational and Cultural Center

   Each Saturday morning at 10:00, Mr. or Mrs. BartonTeague offers a Power Point presentation and morning tea to whet the novice gardener's appetite for more ambitious planning for the family garden. (Schedules of all events are available at both nursery sites and on the website—see below.)

   "Garden Chats" are held at 14:00 in the converted stables the first and third Sunday of the month and are also available by podcast from their website,
www.bartonhallgardens.com.

   At these bimonthly lectures, visiting experts offer their insights on various aspects of gardening, with a questionand-answer period to follow.

   The second and fourth Monday evenings are devoted to illustrated talks by representatives from such public institutions as The National Trust, The Cornwall Garden Society, English Heritage, Royal Horticultural Society, etc. Week-long seminars are held quarterly and luxurious guest accommodations for attendees are available by reservation.

   Mr. and Mrs. Barton-Teague's BBC-TV television series I
n
the Garden debuts on Public Broadcasting Service in America thi
s autumn. Audio CD and DVD versions (recorded in both British and American formats), in addition to their illustrated guide, are available for purchase in the shop. An interactive "Barton Hall Garden Game" for children is scheduled for release very soon.

Barton Hall Nurseries and Shops

   Both the St. Austell and Barton Hall locations are renowned for the cultivation of rhododendron, azalea, camellia, hydrangea, and magnolia starter stock, along with selected examples of larger specimens.

   The herb garden is now the sole responsibility of Master Richard Teague, who supervises the curing and packaging of the extensive selection of dried herbs and fragrant potpourri, also available for purchase.

   Experienced local gardening staff is on hand to answer questions at both nursery locations. A large selection of quality gardening tools, garden furniture, statuary, paving stones, and other items related to gardening or country living may be purchased in the converted sheep shed. Online and catalog shopping is provided through information available near the register, along with both classic and recent gardening pictorials and cookbooks. The complete works of Daphne du Maurier are also kept in stock.

   The Barton Hall "From the Nursery" newsletter can be subscribed to electronically or by post. Applications are available in the shop.

The Tearoom

   Afternoon Cream Tea is served at Barton Hall from 14:00 to 17:00 hours on days when the nursery is open to the public. Prices are posted near the door of the tearoom, which can be found adjacent to the walled herb garden. Scones, bangers, Cornish pasties, and Barton Hall Brambleberry Jam are also available for take-away purchase. Private catering for local events may be arranged upon consultation with Mrs. Margery Quiller, proprietress.

The Annual Fete

   The Barton-Teagues host an annual garden party to raise funds for the Search and Rescue Team the first Saturday in September. Featured are Cornish pony rides, special tours of the Hall, stall sales, raffles, a Punch-and-Judy show, teas, the Pet Parade, a demonstration of Wild West barrel-racing by Mrs. Barton-Teague (a former "Miss Rodeo Wyoming"), a display of The Ennis Trevelyan Seascape Collection, and a psychic fair under the direction of psychologist Dr. Valerie Kent. Telephone Barton Hall (Nursery office, please) for information. Transport is available by arrangement. Children free. Dogs welcome.

   For further information regarding Barton Hall Gardens and Nurseries, Ltd. (including a video press kit upon request), contact:

Mrs. Chloe Vickery
Vickery Public Relations
Shipwright's Loft, Rattle Alley
Gorran Haven, Cornwall

I am deeply indebted to Sourcebooks Landmark publishing company for selecting
A Cottage by the Sea
for reissue in this lovely new edition more than a decade after it was first published. There is nothing more gratifying for an author than to have the opportunity to adjust a few things that got past everyone the first time around, and polish a bit of prose here and there. I also want to say what a joy it's been working with my editor Deb Werksman and all the staff at my new publishing home—and I thank them all for their kindnesses and competence.