Page 18 of Aurelia

“Perhaps I will ask you to make one of me, Miss Burton.”

Aurelia suspected that she would make plenty of sketches of this man in the months to come, but she had no intention of admitting such a thing. She also had no intention of having him sit for a portrait. Being closeted in a room with the clearly devious, mischievous earl while he slowly and expertly reduced her to a babbling fool was not part of Aurelia’s plans.

Instead, she said, “I am not a portraitist, my lord.”

Lord Crewe smiled at her not-very-subtle evasion. “One should always embrace an opportunity to learn new skills, Miss Burton.”

Thankfully the door opened and Mr. Montgomery joined them before his lordship could pursue the subject.

Mr. Montgomery’s cheeks were flushed, as if he’d been running. “So sorry I’m late, Crewe, Miss Burton.”

“I thought you were bringing her?” Lord Crewe barked, his smile of only a few seconds earlier nowhere in evidence.

“Er, I thought she might dine in her room tonight given that—”

“Damnation, Arthur!” The earl set his glass down so hard Aurelia was surprised it did not shatter. “I told you—and her—that I wanted her here.”

Mr. Montgomery cleared his throat and his celestial blue eyes slid to Aurelia and then back to his cousin, and then he raised his eyebrows.

Lord Crewe made an exasperated noise and turned back to Aurelia. “Excuse my language, Miss Burton.” He strode to the door, flung it open, and then spoke with somebody who must have been waiting outside.

Mr. Montgomery poured himself a glass and Aurelia could not help noticing that his hands shook when he lifted the decanter.

The earl strode back to his seat and picked up his glass. “Where did you learn to paint, Miss Burton?” he asked, his expression no longer annoyed, but politely interested.

“I was fortunate to have a governess who’d been trained by a drawing master in her youth. Once she had imparted all she knew, she advised me to hone my skills by looking at as much art as possible to keep learning.”

“You must peruse my gallery,” Lord Crewe said.

“Indeed, it is as excellent a collection as you will find anywhere in Scotland,” Mr. Montgomery chimed in.

“Miss Burton is an Englishwoman, Arthur. To impress her, you must say my collection is as good as any in England.”

“I am sure there are many excellent collections in Scotland,” Aurelia said, exasperated by his references to the Scotland-England divide. “We are all one nation now, my lord. We have been for quite some time.”

Lord Crewe laughed.

“Do you really believe the divisions between us are so great?” Aurelia couldn’t help asking.

“Oh, Miss Burton! I do hope you did not say such inflammatory things during your brief time on the mainland. If so, we should prepare ourselves to be invaded by boats bearing pitchfork-wielding villagers who demand that I hand you over.”

Aurelia pursed her lips and gave the jocular lord a narrow look.

Mr. Montgomery clucked his tongue. “Lord Crewe enjoys teasing people, Miss Burton.”

“My cousin is correct about the teasing—and I enjoy teasing some more than others,” he added with a smirk. “But the truth is, that to many people who live in the North, the divisions do exist and are quite deep.” The earl swirled the small amount of liquid in his glass and regarded her with a hooded gaze. “But that is a boring subject. Let us talk more about you, Miss Burton.”

“I’m afraid my life is even more boring, my lord.”

He merely smiled.

Aurelia felt like a fool as the silence stretched and he did not dispute her claim. She decided she could add most frustrating man alive to her earlier assessment of most fascinating.

“Do you have plans for another expedition once all your paintings have been delivered to the engraver?” she asked.

The earl’s eye widened, as if he could not believe that a subject could be changed without his approval. “I will go to the Cape Colony,” he said after a long moment.

“I understand that is a very long journey?”