“You as well,” he uttered.
William waited until the moon was high and the stars were bright before he went back inside.
***
He was staring at the outline of the newest portrait with a critical eye and found the niggling desire to erase half of it so he could draw out the process of making the painting. It would be unethical…but he wanted more time with Rachel.
He stood, twiddling his pencils while waiting for Rachel to enter the room to start her sitting. He brushed back a lock of his hair from his eyes just as he heard the door of the library being opened.
Turning on his heel, he made to greet Rachel—but her name died on his lips. It was not Rachel who had entered, but instead, it was her mother. And from the look on her face, it was not going to be a cordial discussion.
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Chapter 9
Rachel felt unusually light as she walked to the library. The kiss she had shared with William the night before still lingered on her lips as she palmed the doorknob to push the door open—but at the sound of her mother’s voice, stopped dead in her tracks.
“Mr. Smith are you in some way enabling my daughter into these ridiculous notions that she needs love to marry?” her mother snapped to William.
“No, Your Grace,” William said. “Perhaps Lady Hampton holds that desire on her own?”
“But where in heaven’s name would she get that idea!” Lady Mary railed. “Love is not needed in a marriage. Goodness knows her father and I are married because of mutual respect and because it is right, not for some flimsy notion likelove.”
The scorn in her mother’s voice had Rachel’s heart sinking to her feet. How could she not believe in love?
“Is that not the hope of any lady her age, Your Grace? To find love and affection with a man who shares the same sentiment?” William asked.
Lady Mary scoffed. “Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I know you artist sort. You all have some fanciful, eccentric, romantic ideals that spread like an infection. If you had something to do with my daughter’s notion about romance, I will have you dismissed!”
To save William from having to lie to her mother, Rachel walked in. “Please do not accuse him, Mother. I want to marry for love because, in my view, love is right. Adam loved Eve, didn’t he? Abraham loved Sarah, didn’t he? Why not live how God told us to live?”
Her mother’s face soured as if she’d sucked on a lemon. “And you gained all this from the Bible?”
“Yes,” Rachel lied.
Lady Mary’s lips thinned, but she shot a look to William all the same before going back to Rachel. “Love tends to blind you to reality, daughter.”
“I understand, but it is a chance I want to take,” Rachel replied.
With her lips still pinched, Lady Mary left the room, and before Rachel sat on the chaise, she went to William and rested a hand on his arm. “I am sorry about that.”
He gave her a thin smile. “Your mother was concerned, Rachel. It is plain to see.”
She heard Jane’s soft gasp of surprise and realized that her friend was not aware of the familiarity between her and William. Deciding to explain it to Jane later, Rachel pulled away to take her seat. Jane settled the blanket over her legs and rested a book on her lap while giving her a questioning look. Rachel only shook her head as if saying, not now.
Understanding it, Jane sat on a seat on the other side of the room while William took up his pencils. She tried to keep her composure, but the anger about her mother confronting William smoldered deep in her chest, and she was sure that it flashed on her face at times. She could not believe how horrid her mother had been to William.
Why does Mother hate the very notion of love? It's like poison to her.
Here and there, she caught a concerned look growing on William’s face, and about an hour in, he called for a break.
“Miss Colton,” he said. “Would you please get us some refreshments? Water or any other drink if the kitchen has it.”
Before Jane moved, she looked to Rachel for confirmation, and when Rachel nodded, only then did Jane leave the room. William closed the door behind her, then went to Rachel’s side, slid a hand around her neck, and kissed her.
The kiss was tender and soothing, slow, and showed none of the heat and ardor she had felt from him before. His movements were calming, like gentle worship. He was calming her. When William pulled away, he was smiling.
“Don’t take what your mother said to heart,” he said kindly. “She is only looking out for you.”
