“Well, a lady must be able to provide a little for herself,” Lady Suzanna laughed. “Otherwise, a man will never be enticed to make a proposal for her hand.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Not all men are as mercenary as you perceive, my lady.”
“That is true,” Claire interjected, unable to sit by the sidelines any longer. “I believe that there are men who truly care for their wives and marry them out of true affection.”
“Lady Claire is absolutely right,” the Marquess grinned, causing Claire’s heart to flutter. “But Lady Suzanna is also right. Perhaps both realities do exist and it merely depends on who you ask.”
Claire smiled to herself, satisfied that she had caught the attention of the Marquess.
“Well, what would Draydon know about caring for a lady, when he hasn’t got one in his life?”
Claire looked up to find Oliver striding into the drawing room with a half-smile on his gentle features. He took the seat across from her and tilted his head at the Marquess in question.
Lord Draydon merely smiled in reply. “I am an avid learner—should it come to the right lady.”
Claire’s heart fluttered at those words, while Oliver frowned. Lady Suzanna, though, simply smiled.
“Bold words indeed, My Lord,” she said.
Oliver glowered at their guest. “Indeed.”
“Well, anyhow, I have something to show everyone,” Claire told them with a smile. “It is something I have been working on and I hope to get your thoughts on it.”
She glanced briefly at Lady Suzanna then at the Marquess before she brought out her sketchbook and laid it out on the table.
* * *
Oliver sucked in a deep breath when he saw Claire open her sketchbook on the table for all to see. He recognized her intention for what it was—she was hoping to win the heart of the Marquess.
But Draydon had been staring at his sister like a besotted fool ever since he stepped into the drawing room.
Meanwhile, Claire had spread out her heart beneath his feet, while Oliver could only watch in pure agony.
How I wished she had come to me with her designs, he thought.
“Well, what do you think?” she asked them, hopefully turning her gaze to the Marquess.
Oliver’s eyes ran lovingly over the sketches, tracing every line and curve of the intricate design that Claire had drawn. He read through the notes she had made at the side and although he could see her genius, he felt there was something missing.
It was as if the vibrancy of her usual work was not evident in what would have been her masterpiece.
“Lady Claire has great talent,” Lord Draydon remarked, although with far less enthusiasm than Oliver felt. He scarcely even glanced at the drawings but Claire beamed at him like he had given her the sun, the moon, and the stars.
“Do you think so, My Lord?” she asked him.
“Quite.”
“Do you think that there is something that I could add?” she persisted. “I fear that it is not quite finished. There seems to be something missing but I cannot quite put a finger to it.”
Lord Draydon only looked mildly interested at her sketches. “I think it is lovely the way it is.”
Lovely?Oliver screamed in his head.Can you not see her great talent? Not many men would be able to come up with such a design and to think she is merely eight-and-ten!
Still, he held his tongue and smiled indulgently at Claire. “Our Claire is quite the rare talent. Since she was young, she had been intrigued by architecture and design. I believe that one day, her designs will be recognized all over England.”
It was getting painful for him to see Claire look at Lord Draydon, expecting him to lavish praise on her. Yet, she could not see that the lord was only vaguely interested in her and seemed to have eyes only for his sister.
Probably because he knows that Suzanna has one of the biggest dowries in all of England, he surmised.Thank the heavens nobody else knew of Claire and her family’s fortune or I would probably have more trouble on my hands right now than I should.
