“The verra queen is coming soon,” Lady Balmossie commented from her position at the other end of the table.
“Reason indeed,” John said. “I will do my best.”
“Mr. Blackburn, please do not rush if haste will cause problems,” Amy said.
“My cousin makes a good point,” Aedan said.
“I will be careful, Miss Stewart,” John said. “Sir Aedan, do you know what you’d like done on these walls?”
“The murals in this room were my father’s dream,” Aedan said. “A codicil to his will dictates his plans for each part of the house. Aside from fabric choices and so on, which I leave to Amy’s capable eye,” he said, nodding toward his cousin, “the work must be completed soon if we wish to keep the house in the family.”
“Oh my!” Christina looked at him in surprise.
He lifted a brow in silent acknowledgment. “But it can be accomplished. The will’s codicil is precisely detailed, and much of the work was being done under his supervision until he passed. I will see the rest of it done.”
“The mural is one of the last projects,” Amy added. “Uncle Hugh chose the subject himself. I think we can trust Mr. Blackburn to do something marvelous with it.”
“I hope I am up to the task. What is the theme?” John asked.
“Dundrennan’s legend,” MacBride said. “The tale of the princess in the briar.”
She had recognized the subject in the shadowy, sketchy mural. Yet Christina felt a chill at his words, and met his glance. Aedan returned a steady, almost intimate gaze for a moment. She looked away.
“Mr. Blackburn will want to make the mural his own, regardless of what is there now,” Lady Balmossie said.
“Thankfully my sister is here to help with that,” John said, as Christina startled. “She is an expert in Scottish lore and history, and helps me add authentic detail in my work.”
“Indeed, your painting of Bruce’s coronation shows that,” Rob said. “And Mrs. Blackburn modeled for the heroine in thatwork. Perhaps you could model for the princess in this mural, madam,” he added to her.
“What a wonderful idea!” Lady Balmossie exclaimed.
Stunned, Christina blinked in silence, and saw Aedan MacBride frown.
“Perhaps so.” John smiled. “Christina?”
Stabbing her spoon into melted lemon ice, she tasted it quickly to avoid answering.
Chapter Eleven
“Idon’t thinkyou’ve seen all the gardens yet,” Amy said as she led Christina and John into the foyer after a tour around the house. Although they had been at Dundrennan House for a week, Amy had declared the rainy day perfect for showing them some features of the house they had not yet seen. “There is an old stone monument out there, very nice.”
“The Remembrance? Sir Aedan mentioned it,” Christina said. “Though with the rain today, perhaps we visit it another day. Oh, I quite love the stained glass windows here!” She looked around the foyer.
“Aren’t they beautiful? Uncle Hugh had them designed and installed,” Amy said proudly. “They give the foyer such a nice medieval feeling. See the rose vines in the border? He planned to include a briar rose motif throughout the house, so it is in the stained glass and the mural too, and even in fabrics and wallpaper.” She pointed at the narrow windows flanking the entry door and another on the stair landing.
Christina turned around, looking at all the details of windows, stairway carvings, floor tiles, and more. “What an elegant, unique house. It must be a wonderful place to live.”
“Cousin Aedan is alone here now, but for the servants. We visit often,” Amy added. “Eventually he will marry and the house will be a busy family home again.” She smiled.
“That will be nice.” Again Christina sensed that Amy was interested in the position of Dundrennan’s bride. “Thank you for showing us the house, Miss Stewart.”
“Amy,” she said, smiling.
“And Christina, of course. And John.” She smiled as her brother agreed.
“How are your plans for the mural proceeding, John?” Amy asked, as John paused to study an atmospheric Scottish landscape painting hung nearby.
“I’m sketching ideas for the program, and hope to begin painting soon.”
