She pulled away quickly and regretfully, her hands pressing to Nathaniel’s chest. They were both breathing hard, and Nathaniel stared at her for a moment before he nodded and stepped away.
“You are quite right to pull us apart,” he said in a shaky voice. “I might not have been able to.”
He pushed a hand through his curls, and he gave her a lopsided smile. “Come, we should return to the lecture as soon as possible before our absence is noticed.”
She did her best to straighten herself, and she followed him out the door, hoping that Edward had not begun to look for them and hoping that Margaret had been able to distract him for long enough.
***
Lady Emily had decided that she would not look out of the window, desperately waiting for Thomas to arrive at the house. He was to come to the house that day for the painting. It had been such a sweet gift that Nathaniel had given her, but she was far more nervous than she was about her coming-out ball.
Emily had known Thomas for years now. She gave up on her promise to herself, and she glanced out of the window to watch the street. She had known she was in love with him for about two years, but perhaps it had been even longer, but she'd only admitted it to herself two years ago. Now, it was her time to step out into society, and her mother expected to her to have a whirl of a Season.
She looked down at the book in her hands, the useless attempt to distract herself from Thomas's arrival. There seemed to have been tension of late after her father had fallen ill. No one had spoken to her about it, and all preparations have been made for her ball. Her mother expected her to think solely of the Season. And yet, Emily could tell something was different about the house.
They will not tell me. They still think I am a little girl, even though I am now out in society.
She could feel the tension and the slight pressure to make an advantageous marriage. She didn't believe her parents would be upset about her choosing Thomas, He was the son of an Earl, even if he was the third son.
The problem was, however, that she did not know how Thomas felt about her. He had always been very kind. She worried that he too thought of her as a little girl. There was that and the fact that he had no idea about her hearing problem, and she wasn't sure what he would think once he found out.
“Emily!” the mother called, opening the door.
She jumped to her feet, dropping her book in the process, hands shaking.
“Yes, mother,” she said, putting her hands behind her back, hoping that could hide the trembling.
“Thomas is here for the painting. Shall I send him in?”
“Yes, Mother. Will you send in Heather too?”
“Oh, there is no need for your lady’s maid to come,” her mother said. “Thomas is an old family friend, and you two have been alone many times over the years.” Her mother smiled and then left.
Worse and worse,Emily thought.
Not only would she be spending time with Thomas, she would be really alone with no chaperone at all. And her mother had been smiling, but she looked tired too and strained.
She tried to tell herself that it was only her father's illness, but she wasn’t so sure.
“Emily,” Thomas said.
He came into the room with an easel under his arm, and a bucket of things in his hand.
“Thomas. You’ve come.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the light of his brilliant smile. He nudged the door shut with a shoulder, and he walked towards her, setting the bucket down on the table in the center of the room.
“Will this room be acceptable?” she asked, looking away from those kind brown eyes.
“Yes, just so. The perfect lighting,” he told her. “Beautiful,” he added.
When she turned to look at him, she noticed that he was watching her instead of looking around the room. Something buzzed between them. She thought she'd noticed it before, but it had become especially strong after her coming-out ball.
He was tall and strong, with an athletic build even though he spent a lot of his time painting. But she knew that he would travel up hillsides, wander through the gardens, and go on long walks in order to find the perfect scene.
He looked very well dressed that day with a dark tailored coat, and his dark brown curls looked recently trimmed.
“Please set up the easel wherever you wish.”
