“I most certainly did not!” Rosamund responded indignantly.
He grinned. “MacDuff says his piper will play for us this evening, sweetheart.”
“The maestro says my portrait is coming along nicely, but he will not let me see it until it is finished,” she told him, changing the subject.
“What are you wearing?” he asked her.
“Lavender draperies,” she purred sweetly. “I decided that as long as he has seen me as God fashioned me, and since Annie is with me, I would pose for him as he wanted. As the goddess of love.”
He was uncertain whether he was angry or amused. “Are your breasts bare?” he queried her.
“Only the left one,” she replied innocently.
“Not the right?” His eyes were now dancing with amusement.
“Nay. Only the left,” she told him. “I am a modest goddess, my lord.”
“I am relieved to know it. But what am I to do with a portrait of a bare-breasted goddess, lovey? I can hardly hang it at Glenkirk.”
“Then why did you commission a portrait of me, my lord?” she wondered, and she reached for her goblet to sip at her wine.
“I wanted you to have it to remind you of our days here in San Lorenzo,” he said softly, and he kissed her shoulder again.
“The maestro paints this portrait for himself,” Rosamund said. “He will never let you have it. I have arranged, however, for him to paint your portrait so I may have a tangible memory of you when we are no longer together. I desire no reflection of my image, Patrick, and you could hardly hang a painting of me at Glenkirk, especially one with a bared breast.” She chuckled. “From what you have told me of your daughter-in-law, the lady Anne, she would most definitely not approve.”
He laughed. “Nay, poor Anne would be quite shocked,” he agreed.
“So now, my lord, what are we to do? You have spoken with the baroness, and she has, I expect, told you that her emperor will not cooperate with King James,” Rosamund said low.
“Aye, but if we are to complete the impression of two lovers who have run away for a time from their responsibilities, then we must remain here in San Lorenzo for another month or so,” the earl said. “Besides, the maestro will need more time to complete his goddess of love,” he teased her. “Will you mind remaining away from your beloved Friarsgate longer? I know how much you love your home.”
“Where you are is my home, Patrick,” she told him, tears in her eyes. “We will return eventually, and I must go with you to court, for I promised the queen I should come back. I cannot disappoint her. She has been a good friend. We will spend the summer at Friarsgate, and my daughters will come to know you. And you will meet my family, Patrick. They will like you.”
“And you will come to Glenkirk with me in the autumn,” he said.
Rosamund shook her head. “I think not, my darling, for I do not believe that your son would be pleased to know that you have found love. I would present a threat in his eyes, and I shall not be the cause of a rift between you and Adam.”
“You cannot know that,” he said.
“But I do,” she answered him. “If I were in your son’s position, I should feel threatened that my father brought home a beautiful young mistress. And mayhap not just a bit jealous given the wife I have chosen. Not this year, Patrick, but in time, when Adam has learned to accept I am no threat to him, or to Glenkirk, then I will come. I promise. For now we will enjoy the San Lorenzo sun and the warm days and nights. We shall swim together in the sea, and we shall have our portraits painted.”
“And spend our nights making love, my darling,” he said, his glance heated.
She smiled. “Aye, I shall live for the nights, Patrick,” she told him.
“Have you spoken to your Annie?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “I have done something far more clever. I do not wish to broach that delicate subject with her. I thought it best that they come to us regarding the matter. Before I came down tonight, I left the drawing the maestro made upon the table in our dayroom where Annie will be certain to see it. I expect she and Dermid are even now setting the date. We have hardly set an exemplary example for our servants to follow, my lord.”
“We are their betters,” he said. “Our privileges are greater under such circumstances.”
“Because we are their betters it is even more important we set them a pattern for good behavior,” Rosamund responded.
“Yet you will not marry me,” he replied quietly.
“Nay, I will not, for I am not of a mind to marry again. But I will also not bring your bastard into this world, my lord. Dermid cannot guarantee Annie that, can he? I should not be surprised if his seed has already taken root in the foolish girl’s hidden garden. But when Annie sees that drawing she will know we know of their misdeeds. They will certainly come to us for permission to wed, and we will give it. Moreover, we will witness the deed, Patrick.”
“You are certainly wickedly clever, my love,” he told her admiringly.
