"Thank you," Noble said, glancing behind him at the garden before he looked back at her. His smile was sheepish — they both knew that the garden, and the rules he used for harvesting from it, were all her influence.

"More or less," Noble said. Truth be told, he minded Jemima less than he'd expected — although having another woman to support through a Season was less than ideal, and he was half-convinced that eventually she would get wind of their finances just by Housewifing. "She's a nice girl." A nice girl, had gotten herself in a situation — and now she was another responsibility for him to half-have.

''You're on a walk?" he asked. She liked to walk, but — she didn't walk over here, anymore.