"Perhaps we should view the flower now?" Mr. Washam cut in. He was obviously trying to get today over with, and Elmore didn't blame him.
The flower was planted near where the greenhouse was to be planted, a safe distance from the other plants. The last thing they needed was for the angel's trumpet to affect the growth of other flowers; or worse, for somebody to touch it by accident trying to reach for something else.
Elmore felt safe in the fact that they had accounted for every possible danger.
Aurora was crouched on the ground, holding a pair of dirty gloves in her hands. Yet upon seeing the Duke, she bolted upright and dipped into a shaky curtsey.
"Your Grace," she said brightly, "how wonderful to see you both. You must be here to see the angel's trumpet?"
The Duke nodded. "And you are the young girl who accompanied Lord Winters and Mr. Washam to the previous presentation?"
Aurora flushed under the recognition. It was well deserved after all this time. Except, Elmore wasn't sure that she was blushing because of that; it wasn't the healthy kind of glow of somebody who was happy, or even the awkward look of someone embarrassed to be praised.
No, her skin looked ruddy in a different way. Had she been coughing again?
He was about to ask, but the Duke cut in, "this is it? It's only one plant; how to you expect to do anything with this?"
The Duchess sighed. "Now dearest, allow them a minute to explain." She sent Aurora a kindly smile before turning to look at her husband.
Mr. Washam and Aurora shared a look too; and his brows creased in concern. Apparently, Elmore wasn't the only one to have noticed that there was something strange with Aurora.
Yet she had greeted the Duke and Duchess in expected Aurora fashion, and she was smiling brightly as she waited expectantly for Elmore to explain the plant.
So he did, keeping an eye on Aurora the entire time. "We only have one sample at the moment, but more will come shortly. Until we have our greenhouse, we unfortunately can't do much; the angel's trumpet is used to a hot and humid climate. This is fine in the short term, though, while the plant is still young."
The Duke hummed. "And have you secured funding? I'm willing to pay for the greenhouse and initial samples; but if you remember, the rest is up to you."
Ah, right. Elmore hadn't whispered a word of the altercation with Lord Foley; and apparently neither had Mr. Washam. Well, he wasn't going to embarrass Aurora.
"We haven't secured a proper sponsor yet," he explained, "but I can pay for half of our expected finances, and we plan to secure sponsors before the greenhouse is finished."
The Duke nodded along in agreement, apparently put at ease by Elmore's words. That was good, because they'd already lost Lord Foley's backing, and losing his too would be catastrophic to their success. Theyneededthe Duke on their side.
"It is a beautiful plant," the Duke said softly, "does it always come in this color?"
Elmore wasn't sure when he had become the spokesperson for the angel's trumpet, but for once Aurora wasn't complaining. So, he took that as a sign to continue.
"It has variations of cream and pink, sometimes pale orange. For our purposes, the different kinds are mostly cosmetic, and we can work with any, or a combination of several."
If they planned to breed them, slowly working out the toxicity and making the plants more helpful in nature, the specific strain didn't matter as much as consistency with the breeding. In fact, a variety was better as it allowed them more freedom to see which version of the angel's trumpet was most successful for their needs.
He would have explained all of that, but the Duke didn't appear interested. Elmore remembered at the presentation, how he hadn't cared for the specifics of the science.
That was fine, he decided, because if the Duke was going to be following their journey then he would learn bits and pieces along the way. Perhaps even enough to have the same appreciation for nature that Elmore did.
That was a long time in the future, however, and they had to focus onnow.So, Elmore focused on winning over the Duke.
"We hope that this will be the beginning of many plants; not just the angel's trumpet, but several kind of toxic plant that could be used for good. I've already spoken with some friends about acquiring more samples, some even fully grown specimens that we could begin working with right away. Once the greenhouse is built, of course."
Aurora let out a muffled cough, and both Elmore and Mr. Washam immediately turned to her. It wasn't much of a cough, just a tickle at the back of her throat it seemed, but Elmore still felt himself freeze in concern.
Yet she waved off their worries, even though her cheeks were still pink, and took a step back. Was she trying to make herself less noticeable? Now, that wasn't the Aurora he knew.
"I hope," the Duke stated, drawing Elmore's attention back to him, "that you will have more to show than one plant the next time I visit. It may be beautiful, but it isn't enough progress."
Elmore swallowed thickly. Nodded. It wasn't the support that he had hoped for, but he was no longer surprised. The Duke was a stubborn man at best, and it was clear that he would take some more convincing.
The Duchess was easier impressed, smiling sweetly, but it was clear that she wasn't the one making any decisions. It was a shame, because she seemed like a genuinely lovely woman.