“Oh Lord, here we go again.” Aunt Bianca sighed.
“Tut, tut. Believe me, Sophy, my dear,” Aunt Dora quipped. “No one would have seen you behind me. All they would have seen was the top of that feather. Mr. Kerr would have had to paint an arrow pointing down with your name painted beside it.”
Julian bit back a laugh as he busied himself with his brushes.
“What happens after the energy part?” Aunt Rosalind asked.
“Give him a moment, Rosalind,” Aunt Bianca said.
“I’ll transfer the drawing to canvas using graphite,” he said with a smile. “Next, I’ll make any corrections or changes, making certain your likenesses reflect the unique spirits that you each possess. Then, I’ll begin the painting process and refine it until the portrait is complete.”
“Oh. It all sounds so complicated,” Aunt Rosalind said. “It doesn’t seem at all like painting fields of lavender. All I had to do was take my purple shade and plop bumps of light and dark purples, and then paint the leaves. In fact, I used to…”
“We aren’t fields of lavender, Rosalind,” Aunt Dora said irritably.
“Your Grace, I’m certain you did a lovely job on those fields,” Julian said.
“I agree,” Serafina said, meeting Julian’s gaze. “I think the painting will be splendid,” she added softly.
And for a moment, Julian felt as though he and Serafina were the only two people in the room. He wished they were. How he wanted to kiss those pouty lips again.
Aunt Sophy cleared her throat, breaking the spell.
Julian turned and resumed his sketch.
Several hours passed without anyone showing any signs of boredom—probably because the GDs kept everyone chuckling as they periodically exchanged the sharply humorous banter they were well known for. Julian enjoyed the vibrancy in the room, making it easy to sketch the duchesses and capture their personalities on paper. As lively as they were, the duchesses were dressed beautifully, clearly knowing what styles and colors matched well with their complexions and hairstyles. He could easily see what beauties they must have been as debutantes, at their first ball, waltzing with their future husbands.
As he sketched, he stole a glance at Serafina, who was sitting in front of the hearth, smiling at something her Aunt Sophy had just said, with Willow dozing contentedly in her lap. How he wished he could waltz around a ballroom with Serafina. She always looked beautiful, but he had no doubt she would look stunning in a ball gown with pearls woven through her blonde, luscious locks.
“Kerr,” Landon said, dragging him from his reverie.
Damn, and here I’d almost forgotten another pup was here.
“I almost forgot,” Landon continued. “Richmond asked that you stop by the club later, when you have a chance.”
Julian nodded. “Thank you, Landon.” Perhaps Richmond heard back from the runners with information on the baron. Julian also wanted to ask the duke about Landon’s relationship with Serafina. Despite the earl’s genial nature and his explanation of friendship with Serafina, Julian wanted to make sure if he was a rival. He couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding that had taken hold once more. Whether he needed to worry about Landon’s intentions or the baron’s fixation on Serafina, Julian didn’t know for certain. But he intended to find out.
CHAPTER 9
The following afternoon
“My goodness, I realize this is just a graphite or charcoal drawing, but I love it, already,” Aunt Dora exclaimed. “Do I really look like this?”
“Of course, you do,” Julian said, turning to smile at Serafina. She nearly swooned.
“He’s even made the chopped-up portion of my ostrich feather look right, again. And it’s hiding your neck, so you have that additional advantage,” Aunt Sophy said.
“Aunt Sophy, Aunt Dora’s neck is perfectly fine—even without the ostrich feather,” Serafina said.
“Could you soften my chin, just a little?” Aunt Bianca asked. “It looks like there’s a shadow there.
“That’s not a shadow,” Aunt Sophy said, raising the ire of the other duchesses. “It’s there because you enjoy having second desserts.”
“Sophy! What a thing to say,” Aunt Bianca said.
“Sophy, you’re being extra spicy today. Has someone offended you?” Aunt Rosalind asked.
Serafina had wondered the same thing. Aunt Sophy was always spicy in her comments but never unkind. It was rare that Aunt Rosalind said anything cross. Most of the time, she would good-naturedly accept the quips about her lengthy discourses. She rarely got upset, and she rarely reprimanded one of her dearest friends.
