Chapter Six

"Mother?"

Walking into the drawing room, James stopped sharply, his breath catching in his chest as he took in the scene before him. Lady Calverton was standing before an easel, paintbrush in hand with a tray of paint on the table to her right. There were papers everywhere, lying at her feet and on the chair to her left and he dared not let his eyes go to the paint tray for fear that he would see paint dripping on the carpet between that and the easel.

"Ah, there you are! I did wonder when you would return from your ride." Lady Calverton turned towards him, the brightness in her eyes making James smile despite the scene. There was a smudge of paint on her cheek, a flush of color in her face and James found himself rather relieved that she was wearing an apron over her gown.

"Good afternoon, mother," he said, coming a little more cautiously into the room. "Goodness, might I ask what has brought this about?"

"Oh, it was in speaking with Lady Temperance!" came the reply. "She did not say much about her art, granted, but there was such a passion in what she did say that I could not help but take out everything I have and begin to paint!"

James frowned. "I did not think that she said anything."

"She did not say anything to you , mayhap. But when you stayed with Lord Thurston to take a glass of port, we ladies retired to the drawing room for tea and there, we were able to speak about a good many things."

James closed his eyes. "Mama, I do hope you did not press her on such things. It seemed to me as though she was a little reluctant."

"She is simply not used to it, that is all," his mother stated, waving a hand – a hand which held the paintbrush and James eyed it nervously, worried that a splash of paint might fling itself onto his shirt. "I am going to call on Lady Hartford tomorrow afternoon and I hope that Lady Temperance will be present also and would be willing to show me even one of her sketches. "

Silently wondering if he ought to write in advance of his mother's visit to apologise for her fervency, James bit his lip to keep those words from escaping.

"I am sure that, after a little more encouragement, Lady Temperance and I will be able to share our artistic passions," his mother sighed, seemingly quite contented with all that she hoped for. "Goodness, it is quite marvelous how this has all returned to me so quickly! It has been a long time since I felt the desire to draw. In fact, I believe the last time I did so was before your father passed away."

At the mention of this, James' stomach twisted. "That has been a very long time indeed then, mother. Years, in fact."

"Something he would not have liked," she replied, smiling softly. "I know that you would have preferred that I found another place to paint but the view from the window was simply begging me to paint it and – "

"If you are happy, mother, then please, do not concern yourself with where you are painting," James interrupted, gently putting one hand on his mother's shoulder and seeing her smile. "I am glad to see you doing so again."

She smiled at him. "You are very generous, Calverton. I do hope that when I speak with Lady Temperance, I will have some recent work to speak of…so I must continue painting and finish this piece given that we are to call on her soon."

"I am certain you shall finish it very soon," James remarked, turning on his heel and making to quit the room. "I shall leave you in solitude so you might continue on without interruption."

His mother smiled and waved her paintbrush at him in farewell before James closed the door tightly, silently praying that his drawing room would not be too paint-splattered by the time evening came.

Humming to himself, James made his way back along the hall to where his study was situated, genuinely considering writing a letter to Lady Temperance, apologizing for his mother's fervor and warning her of the fervor still to come! Pausing for a moment, he glanced out of the window towards the shoreline, finding his heart filling with a sense of happiness as he took in the way the sunlight beamed down from the sky through what was otherwise thick, grey clouds. There was a simple joy in watching that, in seeing the light shine down as it did .

I wonder if Lady Temperance is outside also, sketching the scene as she did when I first met her.

A flickering interest grew as he turned away from his study and instead, made for the door. With a word to his butler that he was going to take a short stroll, James hurried outside and made his way along the familiar path, finding his hopes growing with every step. Mayhap he would not have to write a note to Lady Temperance after all. Mayhap he would be able to speak to her face to face.

The wind blew a good deal more gently than it had done over the last few days and the sun, when it broke through the clouds, was warm on his cheek. Making his way to the top of the cliffs, James looked to the left and to the right, only to spy a figure down on the shore. A broad smile spread across his face as he turned to hurry along to the path, hoping that Lady Temperance had made her way down to the shore using the path rather than scrambling down as she had done before! Keeping that smile fixed, he made his way towards her, noticing how her head lifted and then dropped again as she sketched furiously on a piece of paper. Suddenly not wanting to interrupt her, James paused for a moment, his hands going behind his back as he watched her. The left side of her face was visible to him and, since he had never let himself do so before, James let his gaze trace the scar there. It ran a red line down from just below her eyes, fading a little at the bottom but rather than feeling any sort of dislike or dismay, James felt nothing but sadness for all that she had endured. The injury would have been one thing but to have one's betrothed step back from you was quite another!

He smiled to himself as Lady Temperance's hand continued to sketch wildly across the paper, her head continuing to bob up and down as she took in the scene. The clouds began to move a little more speedily now, the wind blowing heavier gusts across the sky, and James watched as Lady Temperance's shoulders dropped. Her hand fell to her side, the other still holding her sketch as the scene before them changed entirely.

With a sigh, she turned, only to let out a shriek, stumbling back in shock.

"Forgive me!" James exclaimed, coming closer to her as Lady Temperance heaved in a great breath, her hand at her heart, her pencil nowhere to be seen. "I did not want to interrupt you. "

Lady Temperance shook her head, still gasping for breath as she stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Your sketch, Lady Temperance!" Seeing the wind attempting to tug it out of her fingers, James hurried forward, helping her to fold it back carefully into her book though, as his eyes took in her work, his heart flooded with admiration at her skill. His hand touched hers for a brief moment and a sudden burst of fire ran up through his veins, leaving him to breathe a little more quickly as he stepped back from her again.

"You gave me such a fright, Lord Calverton." Lady Temperance looked away from him, her lips flattening for a moment. "I think I have dropped my pencil also."

Spying it, James reached for it, taking it out of the sand and handing it back to her. "Forgive me," he said, again. "I did not mean to startle you. I had hoped that you would be here, however. I did want to speak with you, to apologise for last evening."

Her eyebrows lifted, golden curls still bouncing gently at her temples, her bonnet ribbons blowing across her shoulders.

"I want to apologise for my mother's fervency in her questions and in her constant chatter as regards your artistic abilities," he continued, not wanting her to be confused as to his question. "I know that she was rather intensive in her questioning and I was rather concerned that you were somewhat uncomfortable. I know that you are to be subject to my mother's visit again tomorrow and I have, I assure you, asked her not to do the very same thing as she was doing last evening! I do not know if she will do as I have asked, however, so I thought it best to not only apologise to you but also apologise in advance for what she may do."

Much to his surprise, Lady Temperance not only smiled but let out a laugh which made James' eyebrows lift in astonishment. The smile spread a glorious light all through her expression, making his own lips curve upwards also.

"You came to warn me about your mother?" she asked, as James found himself chuckling, though he nodded as he did so. "Goodness, Lord Calverton, she was not as bad as you think. I thought her enthusiasm rather kind, and in truth, I am glad to know that there is someone else who paints and draws as I do. "

"But you did not seem eager to answer her many questions," James protested, though his smile remained. "I do not want you to think that you must answer every one she throws at you."

Lady Temperance's smile softened and she lifted her shoulders gently before letting them fall again. "I am rather shy about speaking about my work, yes," she admitted, her gaze darting away from him again, "but I am not particularly used to company and certainly not to new company either! It takes a great deal of strength for me to speak of such things though my aunt assures me that your mother is genuine in her desire to know of my work."

A little confused, James nodded. "Of course she is genuine. Why would she not be so?"

Her smile turned a little sorrowful and she looked away from him, gazing out to the sea. "Some might speak of it out of pity," she said, a little more quietly. "They might wish to express an interest out of sympathy towards me which, of course, is very kind but still lacks sincere interest."

James put one hand out to her for a moment, then dropped it back to his side. "I can assure you, my mother is nothing but sincere. When I left her, she was busy painting in the drawing room, eager to have something to discuss with you when she comes to call tomorrow afternoon."

A flicker of interest grew in Lady Temperance's eyes. "Is that so?" Her lip curled gently. "Is your drawing room going to be quite all right? My aunt has given me a place to paint by the window that looks out to the sea but there is a great many covers and the like on everything, for fear that I will splash paint on it!"

James laughed and put one hand to his forehead for a moment. "Alas, my mother has not been so considerate, Lady Temperance. I shall return home at this very moment and have my staff do that at once, in the hope that no further damage will occur!"

She laughed again and James smiled warmly, glad that he had seen a smile upon the lady's face. How different this conversation had been from the first time they had met on the shore!

"Are you to linger here a little longer? Or are you going to walk back to the path? "

Lady Temperance looked out to the sea for a moment before she answered. "I think I shall linger here for a little longer. The scene has changed, yes, but I may still sketch a little longer."

"Very well." James inclined his head. "Good afternoon, Lady Temperance."

"Wait a moment."

He turned back to her. "Yes?"

"Are… are you to join your mother in your visit tomorrow?"

James hesitated, not certain as to whether she was asking because she desired such a thing or because she was less eager for his company. "I am not yet certain."

She smiled again though this time, it was not as wide as it had been before. "You are most welcome, of course. I should not like you to think that you would not be welcome to join your mother."

James smiled, thanked her and then turned to make his way back to the path. As he walked, he glanced back to see her standing on the shore, looking out to the waves but doing nothing else.

His heart twisted with uncertainty. Was it that she wanted him to join his mother in her visit tomorrow? Or was she simply being polite with such an invitation? James did not know and as he continued his walk back along the path, he found himself more and more confused. What would be best? What was it that Lady Temperance wanted? And what was it that he himself desired?