Chapter 13

The portrait gallery within the castle, situated directly above the long gallery where the family spent most of their time during the day, wasn’t precisely where Ivy expected to find her sisters. Of course, once she realized they weren’t looking at the artwork but rather creating their own, it made a great deal more sense.

The object of their watercolor paintings managed to surprise her. The sight that greeted her was one of serene domesticity contrasted with a hint of the comical.

Sterling, the footman and bodyguard, stood in the center of the gallery wearing his customary livery, sans the formal wig, but held a shield in one hand and a saber in the other, pointed downward. Both props seemed more suited to a stage than the portrait gallery of a duke’s castle. Of course, he also wore a scowl that amused her. Poor man. How had her sisters managed to persuade him to model for them?

They had watercolor paper on easels before them. A white, thick canvas covered the floor beneath them like a carpet, protecting the room from stray water or paint.

“Ivy,” Betony called when she saw Ivy standing in the doorway. “Come join us. We’re turning Sterling into a knight.”

The footman winced and sighed, adjusting his stance slightly.

Ivy came fully into the room, meeting Sterling’s put-upon gaze and giving him an apologetic smile. “How kind of you to allow such a transformation, Sterling.”

His eyes narrowed. “It is a pleasure, my lady.”

She bit her lip to keep from saying she doubted that. Poor man. The combination of his good looks and serious nature had made him a target for her sisters’ amusement and admiration both. From what she understood of his duties, Ivy knew he had to be a trusted servant to the duke. Most of the footmen were former soldiers, many of them tasked with acting as guards to the family and castle itself, like a small army.

“I suppose if we cannot fend off invaders, we can dazzle them with your art,” she said, coming to inspect their work. Both had practiced enough that their work showed talent, though it was unlikely to ever grace more than a friend’s wall.

Betony laughed softly. “Indeed. One look at the fierceness of Sterling’s gaze and the enemy will run the opposite direction.”

“Though I fear, in frightening off the invaders, our knight may not soon forgive us for putting him through this particular exercise,” Juniper added, smiling innocently at the guard.

Sterling limited his response to a slight tightening of his lips, a testament to either his patience or his dedication to his position as a servant in the duke’s household.

Poor man.

“Perhaps he would like a moment to rest while I share some important news with you both.” Ivy gave him a nod, granting him permission to relax his stance. He bowed, placed his weapon and shield on a nearby table, and went to stand in the doorway, a silent protector and witness to anything that went on in the room.

“Oh, that,” Betony muttered with a scowl, putting her paintbrush down. “Her Grace already informed us. Miserable, isn’t it?”

Ivy blinked in surprise. The duchess couldn’t know of her engagement. She doubted Betony would speak harshly, even if she disapproved, of anything that hinted at romance. “Oh dear. I think you have a piece of news I haven’t yet heard.”

Betony and Juniper exchanged a glance.

“You mean you haven’t come to speak about William and Fanny coming to Clairvoir?”

“No.” Her insides felt suddenly pinched and an unpleasant shudder went through her. Perhaps her half-brother and his wife didn’t deserve that sort of reaction, as they weren’t truly all that horrid. Yet she wanted nothing more than to recoil at the mention of them appearing just as she had grown comfortable in her situation. “When did you find out? When will they be here?”

“Day after tomorrow,” Juniper said, adjusting her brushes and paints unnecessarily. “Her Grace told us before we started painting.”

“Which completely destroyed all my former inspiration,” Betony added with a huff.

“That is why we compelled Sterling to pose for us.” Juniper glanced at the footman from the corner of her eye. “I think he pitied us enough in the moment to agree. I doubt he will make that mistake again.”

This complicated things. Being beneath Fanny’s critical eye meant tightening up her behavior and learning William’s opinion on her decision to accept Teague Frost’s proposal sooner than she had expected. She pressed her fingers to her eyes, already feeling tension building behind them.

“Ivy?” Betony placed her hand on her eldest sister’s shoulder. “Ivy, dear, it won’t be so terrible. They are only staying a short time. When they leave, we can return to enjoying Clairvoir as we had planned.”

“I know.” Ivy dropped her hand to her side and gave her sisters a wan smile. “You still haven’t heard my news, though. William and Fanny coming complicates things, or at least gives me reason for anxiety.”

Her sisters exchanged a glance, then Juniper asked, “What news, Ivy?”

Betony and Juniper both looked at her expectantly, trusting and interested, the best of sisters. She couldn’t anticipate their reactions, try as she might. Best to get on with it, she supposed.

“Lord Dunmore has asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

A stunned silence greeted her announcement, finally broken by Betony’s soft gasp. “Marry? You’ve known him less than a handful of weeks.”

Juniper’s reaction was softer, a smile blooming amidst the surprise. “If you have decided this, Ivy, then there is likely a good reason. Tell us, what made you say yes?”

Ivy took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts into something coherent, something that would make sense to her sisters who looked at her with curiosity.

“It’s not what you might be thinking,” she started, her voice steady despite the fluttering in her stomach. “This is not a love match in the way stories and poems describe it. Teague—Lord Dunmore—and I have agreed on a partnership, a marriage of convenience, if you will.”

Juniper frowned, tilting her head slightly, running her fingers over the paintbrushes. “A partnership? So, this is about practicality?”

“Yes, exactly.” Ivy smiled at her sister, grateful for Juniper’s quick grasp of the situation. “He’s offering me a chance for a life beyond the confines of William’s guardianship. A life where I can be myself, and in return, I... We can offer each other companionship, stability. Of course, he agrees that you may both live with us until you decide otherwise.”

Betony’s eyes widened, her earlier dismay shifting to something more contemplative. “That’s rather broad-minded of him, isn’t it? And generous. Will you find happiness in such an arrangement?”

“I believe I will,” Ivy replied, warming to the subject now that the initial shock had waned from her sisters’ faces. “I believe we can find contentment, perhaps even happiness. He is kind and respectful, and we share many views on life and what we wish from it. And he has a lovely sense of humor. Our interactions have never been dull.”

Sterling shifted slightly in the doorway, an unobtrusive witness to their discussion. His presence was oddly reassuring.

“Now, with William and Fanny coming,” Juniper mused, setting her brush aside and giving Ivy her full attention, “it seems your decision is all the timelier.”

Ivy nodded, a sense of resolve firming within her. “Exactly. Their arrival might complicate matters, but it also reinforces my decision. I won’t be swayed by whatever opinions or objections they might have. This is about my future, our future,” she said, gesturing to include her sisters in the declaration.

Betony, ever the most demonstrative of the three, wrapped Ivy in a tight embrace. “Then we are sincerely happy for you. Who knows? Lord Dunmore may be the sort of husband you have always wanted.”

Juniper joined the embrace, adding, “If not, he’ll have us to contend with.”

“He is incredibly handsome,” Betony said with a sly raise of her eyebrows. “Having a handsome husband won’t be so bad, will it?”

This commentary made Ivy blush. “There is more to life than being attractive, Betony.”

“Mm, but it does make life so much easier when one has a pretty husband to look at,” Juniper said in a low voice. “I imagine it makes a great many things easier.”

“Juniper!” Ivy gasped at her sister.

“And Ivy is beautiful.” Betony tapped her lips thoughtfully. “They will make a lovely couple. Perhaps we ought to paint their portraits next.”

Though usually the quieter one, it seemed Ivy’s situation had brought out some mischief in Juniper more in keeping with someone of twelve than a lady of almost one and twenty. “Has he kissed you yet?”

“What?” Ivy felt a flush spread through her at the very idea. “Of course not!”

“That is terribly disappointing,” Betony said with a deep, almost comical, frown. “One should always kiss after a proposal, at the very least. When it’s accepted, of course. He rather looks as though he knows how to kiss.”

Juniper nodded sagely. “Something about the way he smiles makes me believe that to be true.”

“You are both rather horrid.” Ivy laughed, despite her growing blush, and the other two joined her.

Their laughter filled the gallery, easing some of the tension that had coiled within Ivy at the thought of her impending confrontation with William and Fanny. Yes, their visit would be a trial, but she would see it through with her sisters.

As they broke apart, Sterling cleared his throat, a subtle reminder of his presence.

“Will you two release that poor man?” Ivy asked, her gaze briefly meeting the servant’s. “He must have other duties to see to.”

Betony pouted, but Juniper nodded. “Thank you, Sterling. We will continue another time, perhaps.”

As Sterling bowed and departed, Ivy turned back to her sisters, their painting forgotten for the moment. The challenges ahead loomed large, but so did her gratitude for the two of them. Together, they would navigate the unexpectedness of Ivy’s engagement and the arrival of their brother and his wife. Whatever the outcome, Ivy would manage so long as her sisters supported her.