“Yes, Mother,” he said with a sigh, standing for a moment at the sideboard to take a deep breath.
Even now, in the light of the morning, he could close his eyes and see Lady Jane’s perfect form, bare before him on a bed, reaching out. He remembered the words she’d spoken to him in his dream, as his mouth licked and kissed along every inch of her sweet body:Take me, Nathaniel.
He would never forget that dream for as long as he lived. Letting a little shiver run through him, Nathaniel finished filling his plate before turning around to find his seat at the head of the table.
Emily was also seated on his side, looking a bit tired, but happy, nonetheless. He turned to his sister with a smile. She always satto the left of him so that she could hear him well, but she had become practiced at reading lips.
“Did you enjoy your evening last night, Emily?” he asked her.
“Yes, Nathaniel, it was perfect,” she said, her eyes looking lost in the memory of it. “It was everything I could have hoped for, but now we have a busy season to go through. Mother was just explaining all that we have to do, not that I haven't heard it before, of course.”
To his other side, his mother frowned at Emily, making him chuckle.
“You know, my dear, it is of the utmost importance that you do well this season. You know how important it is to make a proper match.” His mother was pretending that she was giving her daughter a stern talking to, but her glance at him showed him that she was putting her worries on her daughter as well.
Thankfully, Emily did not seem to notice. “Yes, yes, Mother, I know. And what if I do find someone? Do I let you know as soon as that happens?”
“Well, yes!” her mother said excitedly, a smile crossing your face. “Has someone already caught your eye after only one night?”
When Nathaniel turned to look at his sister, she blushed under his gaze, reminding him of Thomas's odd behavior the night before when speaking of Emily. There was the germ of an idea in his mind, but he would wait to see how things panned out. Besides, there was something he wanted to tell Emily that very morning, and he was curious to see her reaction to it.
“Not as such, Mother. I only asked hypothetically.” Emily turned her gaze to her plate.
Their mother sighed, as if impatient, and she said, “Well, at least the latest scandal sheets this morning tell us that last evening was an unequivocal success.”
“Excellent,” Nathaniel replied, genuinely pleased for his mother and his sister. The better she did in the season, the less he would have to worry about her. “Now I have an idea that I thought would make Emily very happy, and it would be sort of a gift of sorts to celebrate your first season and your coming-out into society.
Emily looked up at him, her eyes brightening, and she clapped her hands. “Oh, what is it, Nathaniel? You do give excellent gifts!”
“Ah, I will keep that compliment in mind the next time I vex you.” He folded his hands on the table. He and Thomas haddecided it just last evening, and Thomas had seemed very eager for the idea and had kindly agreed to do it for free.
“I thought perhaps that I would like to commission a portrait of Emily to be made.”
“How wonderful,” Emily replied, but he could tell that his mother was nervous. He turned to look at her.
“Yes, I requested a portrait, and I spoke to Thomas about it. He agreed to do it for free as a gift.”
His mother's face looked relieved, and Emily looked even more pleased.
“Oh, Mother, Thomas is such a wonderful painter. I know he will do a good job.”
“Yes, he certainly will,” their mother replied. “What a lovely gift. We must thank him the next time we see him.”
Emily talked excitedly about the painting as well as the rest of the week’s events for the Season while Nathaniel ate and pondered his day ahead. He was glad that his mother had not mentioned last evening, at least not until he’d had food in his body.
To further avoid it, he excused himself early from the breakfast table and went to sit in his study. He knew that looking at the bills would do nothing to lift his mood. But perhaps it would give him some ideas of what to do about the enchanting Lady Jane Caldwell.
There was a soft knock at the door, and his mother entered quietly. “Ah,” he said, not looking up from the paper he was reading. “I wondered when you would be in. But first, before you start with me, how is father this morning?”
She sat down, and then he finally put his paper down and looked up at her. The question seemed to carry a great weight, and she sighed, looking far older than she really was.
“He is resting, and the doctor is not unhappy with his progress, but he is concerned that he's not seeming to get any better. He is simply existing.
Nathaniel's heart ached for his mother. He was frustrated with his father, and he knew she was too, but at the end of the day, they loved him and wished him better.
“The ball really was the success last evening, Mother. I'm so very glad for Emily.”
“So am I.” She then leaned forward with a little smile on her face. “I wanted to talk to you about the last evening. It seems that you took quite an interest in Lady Jane. I noticed in your initial greeting, and then I saw you dancing together. You made a very fine pair.”
