The other three deployed their not-inconsiderable persuasive charms.
When it became apparent that Daniel was torn between wanting to seize the chance and his reluctance to appear to be horning in on his new friends’ luck, from the other end of the table, Rory rumbled, “Lad?” When Daniel looked up, Rory caught his brother’s eye. “When opportunity knocks, a wise man answers the door.”
Daniel blinked, and the other three pounced.
The end result was that Tristan, who apparently had the best handwriting, was delegated to write by return mail and inform Crawford that their group had increased by one and that the four of them would bring their current portfolios to him for evaluation on Thursday of the following week.
“That,” Melrose declared, “will give us time to polish our offerings and for you”—he looked at Daniel—“to hie to the ruins and put together a few more pieces.”
Tristan was poring over the letter. “He—Crawford—definitely wants the ruins. Who knew the old abbey would prove such a godsend?”
Gregory offered, “Anything with a hint of the gothic is very much in vogue in London these days.”
“Really?” Tristan’s surprise was mirrored by the other three.
Melrose clapped his hands together. “Well, that’s perfect for us.” He glanced at the other three. “Come on, lads. Let’s get to it.”
Chairs scraped and, on his feet, Hugo quipped, “Painting our way into our future, just like we’ve always dreamed.”
About to dash off with the others, Tristan paused in the doorway, looked back at Gregory, and smiled. “When we first met you, on that day in the conservatory, we didn’t imagine you would prove to be a supporter of our art. How wrong we were, and thank Heaven for it!” He waved the letter. “This is thrilling—just thrilling!”
Along with the others still about the table, Gregory laughed and waved the eager foursome off.
They went, and the conversations about the table returned to more mundane subjects.
A moment later, as she rose to depart on her usual rounds, in passing Gregory’s chair, Caitlin laid a hand on his shoulder and lightly gripped.
When he looked up, she caught his eyes and smiled.
Reading pride and an abiding sense of satisfaction in her violet eyes, he smiled back, raised a hand, set his palm over her fingers, and lightly squeezed.
Her smile deepened, and he released her. She left, but that sense of real achievement remained, a pleasurable warmth inside him.
Later that afternoon, Gregory was studying the planting plans and projections for the upcoming season’s wheat, barley, and oat crops from Roxton and Barton Farms and wondering about investigating the potential markets for millet and rye when Cromwell—beaming—opened the library door to admit a breathless Isabelle Sutton, closely followed by a smiling Nell.
Setting down his pencil, Gregory looked from one joyous face to the other. “What’s happened?”
Isabelle sank onto one of the chairs facing the desk, while Nell perched on the seat of the second chair. Even though plainly breathless, Isabelle smiled radiantly. “We’ve come to report”—she paused to draw in a deeper breath—“that today, we received letters of interest from three Oxford colleges!”
“Three!” Nell exclaimed.
Isabelle went on, “They want us to come and look at their old books, and they’ve asked us to bring examples of old books we’ve re-bound.”
“Excellent!” Gregory smiled. “That’s very good news.”
“What is?” Caitlin came in. She smiled at the other women. “Cromwell warned me there was some excitement.”
“Indeed!” Isabelle and Nell turned to Caitlin and poured out their tale.
Meanwhile, Gregory swiveled his admiral’s chair and examined the books on the nearby shelves. When the excitement died enough for him to get a word in, he glanced at Isabelle. “Did the bindery re-cover any of the books here?”
It was Nell who answered, “Yes, we did. Quite a few, actually.”
The four of them spent the next half hour combing through the tomes, selecting those that Isabelle and Nell felt would best show off their skills.
“That will do,” Isabelle declared as she set the eighth book on the pile. “We’ll only be able to carry so many with us on the train.”
They sat and discussed the conditions they would stipulate.
