Page 29 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
Kate waved this off.“Never fear.You should see inside my trunk—I brought more drawing pads than I did clean shirts.”
She had thought this might earn her a chuckle, but instead, he frowned.“I am embarrassed to say that I did not give any thought to the cost of your supplies.Please let me know how much you paid for them.I will find some way to reimburse you.”
“Oh!”Kate paused, searching for the words to convey that his offer was not necessary without revealing that her sister was married to a duke.“That is very kind of you.But I did not incur any extra expense.I have a patron who covers the cost of my art supplies, you see.”
He tilted his head, looking surprised.“Really?Who is your patron?”
“The Duke of Norwood,” she said honestly.
Now, he looked shocked.“Aduke?How on earth did that come about?”
She chose her words carefully.“I am a distant relation of the Countess of Milthorpe.Last year, she was kind enough to invite my family to her country house in Northamptonshire for a visit.The duke happened to be staying there at the same time.He has two English Mastiff dogs, whom he absolutely adores: Beatrice and Benedick.I painted a portrait of them at his request.”
This all happened to be true.It was also decidedlynotthe reason Jasper paid for her art supplies.But she thought it unwise to mention that she was the sister-in-law of the duke.The gossip columns had gleefully reported on how one of England’s richest dukes had lowered himself to marry one of the young ladies once derided in the press as the Weatherby Wallflowers.
The nickname had come about several years ago when Lady Milthorpe had arranged a marriage between Kate’s sister Clarissa and a young man named Rupert Dupree.Rupert had rejected the proposed union, sending a scathing letter to multiple newspapers deriding Kate and her sisters as the “Weatherby Wallflowers.”Or so they had thought.It had turned out that Rupert had had nothing to do with the letter and had been unaware of the ensuing scandal as he had been traveling on the Continent at the time.In fact, he was the same Rupert that Clarissa had married last Christmas.Kate’s eldest sister, Eleanor, had, of course, married a duke, making the gossip sheets look foolish, and her husband, Jasper, was now in the process of ruining those responsible, both socially and in court.And so, the story had a happy ending.
Still, the incident meant that Kate was somewhat notorious, and right now, the last thing she wanted was to draw any attention.She wondered if Nathaniel was aware of the Weatherby Wallflowers scandal.He didn’t seem like the sort to read the gossip columns.But her father, Kenneth Weatherby, was known in academic circles.She would not be surprised if the news that one of his daughters had married a duke had made the rounds at the university.
Fortunately, if Nathaniel’s genial smile was anything to go by, he had swallowed her explanation of how she came to be acquainted with a duke hook, line, and sinker.“Ah!So that is how he became enamored of your work.”
Kate blushed.“Something like that.”
He elbowed her.“There’s no need to be so modest.You’re fantastically talented.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“The Duke of Norwood.”He leaned toward her, his eyes gleaming.“Did you know that he married one of Kenneth Weatherby’s daughters?”
So, she had been correct; the gossip had spread all the way to Scotland.She reminded herself that the easiest lie to maintain was the one that was closest to the truth.“I did.In fact, it was at the gathering I mentioned that His Grace first met the woman who is now his duchess.”
“Really?”He laughed.“What a small world!Did you meet Kenneth Weatherby, then?”
Again, Kate chose her words carefully.“He was not at the gathering.According to his daughters, he is abroad, participating in Richard Smithers’ voyage of exploration.”
“Ah.I see.Are you familiar with his work?”
She suppressed an incredulous laugh.Familiar with his work?You might say that!“Only a little bit,” she demurred.
Nathaniel’s lips were pursed in thought.“The man is something of an enigma.His papers are utterly pedestrian.But then, you see his paintings, and…” He trailed off, making a gesture of fireworks exploding with his hands.
“Oh?”she said weakly.
He turned back to the railing to gaze out at the water.“He’s as good as you.And that’s not something I say lightly.”He shook his head.“It’s difficult to reconcile how he can demonstrate so little scientific insight and then turn around and paint the way he does.”
Kate forced a nervous laugh.“One of those mysteries, I suppose.”
“I suppose.”He turned to her.“What are his daughters like?”
Kate clutched her pad and pencil with white knuckles.“His daughters?”she asked, her voice a bit of a squeak.
Nathaniel did not seem to have noticed her stilted response.“Are any of them naturalists, like him?”
She swallowed.“His third daughter, Katherine, paints a bit.The others are highly intelligent but have other interests.”
“Ah.I see.”He fell silent for a beat, watching the shore, then asked, “Do you have any siblings?”
Inwardly, Kate groaned.The deeper Nathaniel came to know her, the more difficult it would become to keep track of “Kit’s” background.But, as they would be traveling together for the next month, she supposed revealing some personal details couldn’t be avoided.“I have three sisters.”
