Page 20 of The New Earl’s Convenient Wife

Relieved and gratified that he approved, she said, ‘It’s easy to render faithfully something you love.’

‘As you obviously love all these creatures.’ Flipping again through the book, he said, ‘A red deer, a falcon…and this?’

‘A grebe.’ She named off others as he turned the pages and pointed, then identified the flowers and grasses she’d also sketched.

‘You certainly squeezed in as many images as the pages could hold. I wish you had spaced the drawings out more, so one could cut out individual sketches and frame them.’

‘It would have been better…but it’s the only sketchbook I have. I purchased it when we were in London for Aggie’s Season, earning the funds by doing little chores for her, as she’d been given an allowance and I had no money. I didn’t have enough to buy another, so I’ve been careful to conserve the space.’

Hart looked affronted. ‘Your parents would begrudge you the cost of a sketchbook? I should think they would be proud of your ability!’

‘Oh, if I’d wanted to sketch or paint “womanly” subjects, they might have been. But they didn’t have much use for red squirrels and lesser grebes.’

‘How short-sighted! Your technique is unusual, too. Such…swirls of energy in the background—the gathering storm on the lake behind the tern! It reminds me of the painter J. M. W. Turner. I viewed his Fishermen at Sea at one of the exhibitions in London—it had the same dark, brooding atmosphere, with the moon in the distance, as in your sketch. Have you seen any of his work?’

‘No. I was able to slip away to the British Museum—what an excellent collection of animals and sea creatures they possess. But no gallery trips.’

‘We shall have to rectify that! I must take you to the next exhibition at the Royal Academy. Perhaps Turner will have some new paintings on display.’

Touching the sketchbook with almost reverence, he said, ‘I wish you could have traveled to the Peninsula! You would have loved discovering the birds, vegetation and animals of that region.’

‘I’m sure I would have. Though I’ve no ambition to travel so far, I have dreamed of someday visiting other regions of England to observe and sketch the living creatures there. Perhaps I may, someday.’

‘After we have Thornthwaite restored, I’d like to accompany you.’

He liked her drawings—and was interested in supporting her while she wandered to do more? After being criticized by her family for so many years for her inclinations, a swell of gratitude at his honest appreciation moved her almost to tears. ‘I would like that, too,’ she whispered, emotion clogging her throat.

Handing her back the sketchbook, Rafe gazed up at the sky. ‘Shadows are lengthening. We’d better head back.’

Loath as she was to end what had become an enchanting interlude, she realized it was getting late, with duties awaiting them both at Thorne Hall. ‘Yes. Thank you for today. For letting me become reacquainted with a place I’ve loved so much and haven’t been able to visit in a long time.’

‘We reacquainted me, too. We must ride together often.’

‘I’d like that, too.’

Buoyed by their renewed rapport, Juliana let Rafe help her remount, his lingering caress of her side while doing so reminding her that he’d said he’d welcome her luring him to an interlude of pleasure later. The very idea incited a tingling sensation at her center.

It appeared that Rafe would remain the good friend he’d been in her youth, tolerant and supportive of her oddities—though the matter of accompanying him to London could remain a sticking point He might be a soldier used to giving commands, but she wouldn’t be commanded into doing something she so disliked. Surely she’d be able to eventually convince him her presence there was unnecessary.

She would have to keep submerged the strong feelings for him he’d made more than clear he would neither appreciate nor want to reciprocate, even if he could. But with a powerful mutual passion to underlie and deepen their friendship, she was cautiously hopeful that the desperation that led her to accept his offer might not end in disaster after all.