Page 42 of Rescued from Betrayal
John held out his.
The action took Nathaniel by surprise. John hardly ever exerted himself where females were concerned. Not that he was remiss in his duties to them, but he usually allowed other gentlemen to take the lead.
When they arrived at their destination, John asked Melior to take a seat on the piano bench, instructing her how to sit and at what angle he wanted her to tilt her head. Once she was in place, he latched onto Nathaniel’s arm and pulled him to stand next to her, physically turning him and lifting a hand to place on Melior’s shoulder. Nathaniel supposed he should be happy that John had not handled Melior in the same fashion.
John adjusted the hand on Melior’s shoulder until Nathaniel’s bare palm lay on the warm delicate skin next to the puffed blue sleeves. Shouldn’t she be wearing a fichu or a shawl? It was still more winter than spring after all. One would think she would take better care of her health. She could catch a chill with thecold coming through the large glass doors that opened out to the terrace.
He flexed his fingers and she flinched under his touch. Had he hurt her? He pulled his hand away.
John grabbed it. “No, I need you to keep your hand exactly so. Now, do not move. I only have a few minutes to sketch this before the light changes.”
“I thought this was to be a painting.”
“It is,” Melior and John said at the same time. John ducked his head and Melior giggled.Shegiggled.
“Lord Newhurst will make a sketch to capture the pose. It is faster and will allow him a subject that does not move so he has enough time to paint our picture.”
“I will actually need several sketches, if you do not mind. I will return a few more times over the week to capture different aspects and poses. I want to make sure you are both painted in the best light.”
Melior nodded, the motion causing her shoulder to flex under Nathaniel’s hand. Heaven help him, was he going to be asked to stand in these intimate positions multiple times over the next week?
He tried to convey his concern to John without saying anything to upset Melior, but his friend smiled innocently.
The next half hour was the longest and shortest of his life. He relished being close to Melior without having to make an excuse for why he was there, and yet it was torture. The room was uncomfortably quiet for the first quarter hour as they held as still as possible.
Every so often Melior’s fingers would wind themselves about each other and then as if she’d remembered she was not supposed to be moving, she’d move her hands back into a relaxed position. What was she thinking? Did she notice the way his hand warmed on her shoulder? How could she not?
Was she pleased with the contact or did she only tolerate it for the sake of art?
“Do you have any siblings, Lord Newhurst?” she finally asked.
“No.” John leaned back and squinted his eyes at the paper before him.
Nathaniel peered at his friend. Something seemed out of place. “John, where are your spectacles?”
“I am having them repaired. One of the lenses cracked and the new one has not yet arrived.”
“Then how do you know if what you are drawing is even correct?”
The corner of John’s mouth tipped up. “I do not.” He made several more marks on the paper and then turned it about. “Tell me Lady Stanford, have I drawn your husband's nose large enough?”
Melior laughed at the outrageously large nose that covered Nathaniel's entire face.
“I believe it is sufficient, but his ears are a bit small.”
Nathaniel scoffed. “I would say they are the only appropriately sized feature on that whole picture.”
John chuckled. “Are you saying your wife’s features are not the right size?”
“Yes. You have her eyes far too small and her hair curls around her ear. Her jaw is more straight than round and you have completely missed the dimple in her right cheek.”
Flipping the picture back around, John stared at it, but Melior was looking at Nathaniel wide eyed. He glanced down at her, now self-conscious of what he’d blurted out. He’d not meant to divulge how much he’d studied every detail of her face.
“Not many people have noticed my dimple,” she said softly. “It only appears when I laugh. I suppose with all the time you spent with my brother you are one of the few who have witnessed it.”
“You used to laugh often… when you were younger.”
She smiled at him. “I suppose I did.”
