“Thank you, my sweet. I was thinking of pairing it with my sage shawl.”
“Good choice,” Serafina said. “When was the last time you sat for a painting?”
“I’m afraid it’s been quite a while for me, my dear,” Aunt Dora said. “Carlton was only seven years old when Nate commissioned a family portrait. I’m a tad nervous to see myself in oils again. I’m afraid I’ll look old.”
“Pish! You saw the samples of his work,” Aunt Bianca said. “Mr. Kerr has a way of adding light to his paintings that I think will give us a youthful glow. At least, I’m counting on that,” she said, pinching her cheeks. “Just in case,” she added with a wink at Serafina.
Serafina bit her lip to keep from smiling when Aunt Dora rolled her eyes as her friend kept pinching her cheeks.
“You’re going to look like someone slapped you.”
“Oh pish!” Aunt Bianca huffed, smoothing her reddened skin.
“I see you’re both dressed and ready,” Aunt Sophy said, padding into the room.
“Aunt Sophy, that peach is most becoming on you,” Serafina said.
“Thank you, sweetie. I think it makes me look taller, don’t you?”
“Very much so,” Serafina said with a smile.
“Now, Rosalind thinks the yellow one would have been—oh dear.” Aunt Sophy padded back to the entrance of the drawing room. “Where is that woman? She was right behind me.
“I wager she went back to change,” Aunt Bianca said in a wry tone.
“I told her to wear the blue silk, not the burgundy,” Aunt Dora said, adjusting her shawl.
“Shall I go up to look for her?” Serafina asked.
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be down,” Aunt Sophy said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Besides, your young man will be here soon. I do hope you’ll stay for the entire sitting. You can assist him with his…uh, supplies.”
Serafina was about to tell Aunt Sophy the same thing that she told Aunt Bianca about referring to Julian as her young man, until she saw her aunt’s cheeky grin.
Oh dear, she hoped her aunts weren’t going to launch into a round of teasing as they sat for their portrait. She was beginning to feel nervous herself. Everything was happening so fast. She could scarcely sort out the feelings swirling inside her.
That kiss! That unforgettable kiss. She’d been up all night tossing and turning, reliving every moment of their outing. And every second of that kiss. But did it mean that Julian’s feelings were well and truly engaged? Even after such a wonderful afternoon, she continued to worry about trusting herself where men were concerned. After all, she’d barely avoided a marriage to Edward that would have been disastrous, based on impulse and nothing else. The two had thought themselves in love.
Fortunately, they realized during the very long ride to Gretna Green that it had been the pain they’d both suffered—she, grieving the death of her parents and the situation she found herself in, and Edward, grieving his father’s death—that had made them mistake friendship for love. She couldn’t avoid it forever. She needed to tell Julian about the near elopement…butfeared he would think her a wanton, especially after that kiss. But if she didn’t tell him soon, Julian might find out the truth from someone else. Her guardian had done a lot to stem the flow of gossip, but secrets had a way of getting out.
“Your Graces, Mr. Kerr’s carriage has arrived,” Charles said, rushing in and jarring Serafina from her reverie. “I sent Peter and Thomas out to assist him with his supplies. And I sent Martha upstairs to alert Her Grace. Would you prefer that light refreshments be brought in now or later?”
“Now,” the other three duchesses said in unison.
Well, if Aunt Rosalind was late, she couldn’t blame anyone but herself,Serafina thought as she scooped up Willow, whom she’d set on a pillow in front of the cheery fire when she’d entered the drawing room. Cuddling the sleepy pup, she made her way to the entry hall, grinning to herself as her three aunts bickered about where they would sit or stand for the portrait.
“Sophy, just because this is your house doesn’t mean you get to make all the important decisions,”Aunt Bianca chided.
“I thought we had already resolved this after dinner last evening. We had all agreed,”Aunt Dora replied.
“The shortest straw sits in the armchair. That would be me. The longest straw stands behind the chair, that would be you, Dora, and the other two straws are left and right,”Aunt Sophy chirped.“Honestly, why did we even bother with the straws?”
“Miss Davies, this missive just arrived for you,” Charles said, extending a salver with a sealed note on it.
“I wasn’t expecting anything.” She wondered if it could be from Aunt Catherine, but she didn’t recognize the handwriting. “Thank you, Charles,” Serafina said, taking the missive and slipping it into her pocket.
She’d read it after the sitting. She didn’t want to miss a single moment of Julian’s visit.
Julian was unloadinghis equipment from the carriage, passing each item to the waiting footmen, when another carriage rolled to a stop behind his. A tall, dark-haired young man stepped out, greeted with warm familiarity by the servants.
