When I hear the songbirds in the trees, When the wind rustles the air on scorching days, When laughter strikes a somber room, When day breaks the longest nights, When I think of love, I think of you. I think of naught but you.
When old eccentric Earl of Brentworth, Maurice Willingham, goes to America to settle affairs with his newly deceased brother's estate, he ends up deciding to stay some years and befriends the groundsman, Kit Welch, who, for the lord's curiosity, exchanges his knowledge of plants for additional pay. The two strike a bond on the estate in the absence of either having any family to engage with. But when it comes time for the Earl to return to England, he has a rather unconventional and—should anyone find out—scandalous idea.
Kit Welch was not a titled man, nor was he a wealthy one. He had known nothing of pall mall. He had no use for a dessert spoon nor the etiquette of fine dining. A ball was not a thing to attend but a time to keep busy. A lady's affection was not a thing to be won, nor even considered. His hands were more often filled with dirt than they were the reins of a horse. Kit Welch was no one to the world, but with the Earl of Brentworth putting his stake in the young man, Christian Willingham could be....