Page 3 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
Nathaniel knew that they would, but he inclined his head.“As you like.”
Nat stole a glance at Kit as they strolled toward the New College building.He was a quirkish sort of fellow, and not just because of the robes.He was of average height, but judging by the delicate hands and wrists peeking out from the baggy robes, he was exceptionally slender.He had the smooth jaw of a young man who didn’t yet need to shave, although that wasn’t entirely unusual.Some students came to the university as young as sixteen, or occasionally, even fourteen.Nathaniel couldn’t help but notice that he had a fastidious quality to his gait.They came to a puddle, and he drew his robes up as if they were women’s skirts and reached across with a daintily pointed toe as if he dreaded the slightest speck of mud.
Ah, well.Nathaniel supposed that went along with his artistic temperament.The important thing was that the young man could draw.
But he needed to find out how well.
A morning lecture had just concluded, and students came streaming through the archway of the New College building.Kit peered at them with dismay.“You weren’t joking when you said nobody here wears robes.”
Nat tried to make his voice sympathetic.“Indeed.”
Kit sighed.“I had hoped there might be a few students who chose to wear them.I always imagined I would wind up at Oxford, so I’ve been dreaming of wearing them for years.But if nobody wears them here, then I suppose I must—Oof!”
A student hurrying across the grassy quadrangle at the center of the New College building had clipped Kit on the shoulder.He turned his head not to apologize, but to glare, and Nat’s heart sank as he realized it was Iain Galbreath, the young man he had originally hired to be his illustrator.
Nat didn’t want things to be awkward, although based on his recent interactions with Iain, he didn’t hold out much optimism on that front.“Ah, Iain.Good afternoon.”
Iain drew himself up.He was tall and lanky with wavy brown hair and a pale, ruddy-cheeked complexion.His expression could fairly be described as wounded.“Mr.Sterling,” he said stiffly.
Nat gestured to Kit.“Allow me to introduce Mr.Christopher Witherspoon.Kit, this is Mr.Iain Galbreath.”
Kit extended his hand.“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Iain regarded Kit’s robes with a wrinkled nose.“Mr.Witherspoon, is it?I…” He froze midsentence as his eyes fell on the sketchpad Kit carried under his arm, then scowled.He lifted his chin, pointedly refusing to look at Kit.“If you will excuse me,” he said as he swept past them.
Kit watched him go, his expression confused, then awkwardly lowered his outstretched hand.“What was that about?”
Nat sighed.He supposed there was no avoiding the subject now.He inclined his head, indicating that they should resume their progress across the grassy quad.“You probably recall that another young man was initially hired for this position.That was him.”
Kit’s eyes widened as he fell into step beside him.They were a brilliant periwinkle blue with thick brown lashes that would have been the envy of any lass in Scotland.“I see.I take it he did not leave the post voluntarily?”
“You are correct.”Nat dropped his voice low.“I trust you will keep what I’m about to tell you in confidence.I never thought he was the right man for the job.”
Kit’s expression was one of trepidation.“Oh?”
“He was a competent enough artist,” Nat clarified as they entered the New College building.He led Kit toward a flight of stairs.“The sample he submitted didn’t hold a candle to yours.But he is the nephew of the Earl of Drumblade, who is a patron of the university.”
Comprehension flared in Kit’s blue eyes.“Ah.I take it you wereencouragedto choose him.”
“That’s a good way to put it,” Nat agreed.“I thought we might manage to work together regardless.But the real problem emerged when I took him out into the field.You see, he specializes in entomology, and his training consisted primarily of painting museum specimens.So, I should add a qualifier—he was a competent enough artist, so long as his subject stood perfectly still for three weeks.Which wild animals have an irritating tendency not to do.”
The corner of Kit’s mouth twisted upward.“Well do I know it.”
“It immediately became clear that his work was not of sufficient quality to be presented in an academic setting.I met with his uncle, the earl, in an attempt to smooth things over.After I showed him Iain’s paintings, Lord Drumblade was very gracious.Unfortunately, as you have seen, Iain has not taken his dismissal very well.He studies under a different tutor, Andrew Thompson, an entomologist like himself.”
Andrew Thompson was another problem.Usually, if a student was acting out, Nat would have approached their tutor.
But for reasons Nat had never understood, Andrew disliked him.It wasn’t merely that Andrew ignored him whenever they were in the same room.Several times, Nat had greeted him when their paths crossed on the university’s campus, and Andrew had refused to acknowledge him.
The first time, Nat had assumed it had been a mistake.Surely Andrew hadn’t given a man he scarcely knew the cut direct!Andrew had taken his undergraduate degree at Cambridge and was in his first year at St.Andrews.Perhaps he did not yet recognize everyone in the School of Natural Sciences.But it happened again a few weeks later.
The third time, when Nat called out a greeting, Andrew looked directly at him for a moment, then sharply turned his head away.At that point, the only logical conclusion was that Andrew had some grievance with him.
Nathaniel didn’t know the reason for certain.It might be that Andrew saw him as a rival, rather than a colleague.They were the only two fellows at the university specializing in the natural sciences, meaning that they were competing for a finite set of resources, including research grants and promotions.It might be nothing more than that.
But he couldn’t help but wonder if Andrew disliked him for the color of his skin.Most Scots were broad-minded, and Scotland had a reputation for being more welcoming to Black people than most parts of the world.It was one reason, along with its outstanding academic reputation, that Black students flocked to the University of Edinburgh.But this would hardly be the first time Nat had encountered someone who had a problem with his brown skin.
He could deal with it.Sadly, he had a lifetime of experience.And he knew that the same rules that applied to Andrew Thompson did not apply to him.Andrew could get away with being rude and standoffish.As a Black man, Nat’s behavior, on the other hand, had to be beyond reproach.And it was.He was flawlessly cordial.But he knew his best strategy was to minimize interactions with Andrew, and so he had hesitated to approach him regarding Iain’s boorish behavior.
