The Portrait of a Scarred Duke by Patricia Haverton

Chapter 25

“Elinor! What a pleasant surprise!” Henry said.

Elinor smiled awkwardly. She’d never before seen her uncle visiting her father, so she refrained from telling Henry that she always visited her father in the mornings before she went to the studio. Her presence, therefore, wasn’t a surprise.

“Likewise,” she said instead. “I’m glad to see that you and my father are feeling friendlier towards one another.”

She smiled and peered around her uncle’s shoulder. Her father sat in a chair, buried beneath a blanket. He smiled wanly at her, but despite that, Elinor’s heart warmed. His complexion had returned to its usual color, and sweat no longer clung to his brow. Her father’s breaths no longer sounded ragged, as if they’d been torn from him.

“We aren’t the only two who seem to be feeling friendlier towards one another,” her uncle said.

Seth.

Elinor felt all the air leave her lungs at once. Her first, instinctive thought was that her uncle knew about how fond she and Seth were of one another. Heat rose to her face, and Elinor tried frantically to turn her thoughts away from Seth’s soft eyes and his warm lips. She swallowed hard. The more she tried to think of anything but Seth, the more present he seemed to be.

“Wh—what do you mean?” Elinor asked, her voice wavering.

Her father and uncle exchanged a look that Elinor didn’t understand. It was as if they had some secret and didn’t wish to share it. What was the significance of that?

Elinor’s father cleared his throat. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“His Grace and I are on better terms than we were when I last spoke to him,” Henry explained. “That’s all. I wonder if I have you to thank for that.”

Elinor began to think more clearly. Maybe her uncle didn’t know how she felt about Seth. After all, she and Seth had only kissed once in the garden. Certainly, they saw one another often and frequently had long conversations with one another, but her uncle hadn’t been present during those meetings.

Unless Letty mentioned that Seth and I seem close.

But Elinor didn’t think Letty would spread gossip about them, and if she had, it surely wasn’t meant to be malicious.

Elinor let out a small laugh. “Why would you thank me? I’ve no say over what His Grace may think.”

Henry’s eyes sparkled. “Of course, I wouldn’t think so. However, he did seem much more…considerate of me after I mentioned my concerns to you.”

“A coincidence, I’m sure,” Elinor replied.

She wasn’t ashamed of being in love with Seth—the farthest thing from it—but Elinor wasn’t sure if he wanted everyone on the estate to know that they’d developed feelings for one another. Elinor dug her nails into the palms of her hands in a vain attempt to calm the itching in her fingers. She ached to touch him, to be enveloped in his embrace and in the gentle scent of his cologne.

“I suppose,” Henry said.

His voice sounded guileless, as if he genuinely did believe her, but the mischief in her uncle’s eyes gave her pause.

“At any rate, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Elinor’s father asked. “It is good that His Grace favors you once more.”

Henry sighed and shook his head. “I suppose, but I can’t say why he began disliking me to begin with.”

Elinor bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m sure it was nothing. He—he seems like a man who is just trying to adjust to being home again. I’m sure his position isn’t an easy one to be in.”

She wouldn’t allow herself to say anymore. Although Seth had never asked her for secrecy, she still felt as though he might not like having his vulnerability mentioned to anyone else. Men could be quite sensitive about such things, or so she’d heard.

“Just so,” her uncle replied.

“I’m glad, though, that everything is going well with the Duke,” Elinor said.

She ached to say his name. Every carefully composed title felt like a lie falling from her lips, but if she called him Seth, there could be no denying that she was far more familiar with the Duke than she ought to be.

“And you look better, Father,” Elinor said, hoping to turn the conversation towards safer ground. “It appears as though our family fortunes may be turning for the better.”

Hopefully, her uncle’s presence at her father’s side indicated that the two of them were also trying to overcome whatever strange grudge had separated them for so long.

“I feel better,” her father said. “I think I may soon be ready to return to the studio, actually.”

Elinor nodded and forced a smile. Her first, instinctive thought was that her father, once he’d recovered, would want to resume painting Seth’s portrait. It was a selfish thought, a terrible thought. Elinor knew that she ought to be wholly happy for her father, but when she thought of him taking the portrait and spending those long afternoons with Seth instead of her, Elinor felt herself wilting, like a flower without water or sunlight.

“Of course, I think we both agree that it’s best—until then—for you to continue painting for His Grace,” her uncle said.

Since when are the two of them working together?

There was something very strange about this whole situation, but Elinor wasn’t sure precisely what it was. Did it have something to do with the grudge her uncle and father held between them? Or was it something to do with the Duke? Or herself, even? She couldn’t decide.

“Well, I should be on my way,” Elinor said. “I like to have everything arranged and ready once His Grace arrives.”

She hadn’t needed to prepare as much as usual, though. While Letty might’ve failed as a maid, she seemed to take quite readily to art. She’d become very adept in mixing pigments and cleaning brushes, tasks which many might assume weren’t very difficult, but Elinor knew otherwise.

“Of course, my dear,” her father said. “Enjoy your morning.”

“I’ll walk you there,” Uncle Henry said. “I should be on my way, anyway. I’ve some other matters to attend to today.”

After giving her father one last smile, Elinor left the room. Her uncle came out with her. “Well, then. I assume His Grace’s portrait is coming along well?” he asked.

“I think so,” Elinor replied.

The night before, she’d begun working on some of the scars. She’d looked at Seth so much, examining his face from every angle, that she no longer even felt as if she needed to look at him to paint him properly. Elinor could envision every curve of them in her mind’s eye. Still, she didn’t tell anyone that. She wouldn’t trade those long afternoons with Seth for anything in the world.

“If he wasn’t pleased, I’m sure he’d have said something,” Henry said.

Elinor nodded. She wondered if she should’ve answered more confidently, so her uncle didn’t feel the need to reassure her. Seth liked the painting well enough. Maybe even a little more than that, considering that Elinor herself had painted it.

Without even looking at him, Elinor could sense that her uncle’s eyes followed her. He seemed as though there was something he was desperately trying to understand.

They reached the studio, and Elinor smiled. She leaned against the door and gazed, at last, at her uncle. “I suppose so. It’s good—really, I can’t even say how happy it makes me that you went to see my father.”

“I know. You’re always thinking of others, aren’t you?” Henry asked.

“I try to.”

Sometimes, Elinor wasn’t sure she succeeded, but she did try. She looked askance and into the studio, where Letty was carefully dusting around the chair where Seth sat when he posed. She swept the dust away without disturbing anything else.

“Anyway,” Elinor said. “I’ll see you later?”

“Of course.”

Elinor smiled and entered the studio. She felt light and warm inside, and when her eyes landed on the portrait, a delighted shiver raced down Elinor’s spine.

“Good morning,” Letty said.

“Good morning.”

Elinor bit her lip and glanced out the window. Seth wasn’t set to arrive for some time yet, but she hoped he’d come to the studio early. She sighed and lowered herself into the chair before her portrait. From the painting, Seth’s green eyes gazed at her with an earnest intensity.

“How is your father?” Letty asked.

“Well,” Elinor replied, distracted.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Seth, no matter how hard she tried. There was something very freeing about admitting she loved him, but there was also something persistent about it. She seemed unable to escape him, not that she’d ever want to.

“His Grace will be arriving soon,” Letty replied slyly.

Elinor nodded, and Letty chuckled. “What is it, Letty?”

It seemed as though everyone was enjoying some private jest this morning, and Elinor was the only one who didn’t know what it was.

“You seem very…” Letty trailed off. “You and His Grace seem very close to one another.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Letty narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s something I heard.”

Elinor felt her heart beat more quickly. “From who?”

Letty pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow. “I can’t remember. Truly. But it seems reasonable to me. I’ve seen the two of you together, and—”

Seth entered the room, and Elinor’s entire world seemed to stop. Her heart rose in her throat. Letty knew. Some other members of the household maybe suspected, and Elinor didn’t know how or why that might’ve happened. She’d thought they’d been careful, but maybe it wasn’t enough.

Seth smiled at her, his expression fond. “Shall I?”

His voice rumbled in the air between them, and Elinor felt a fluttering in her chest. “Yes, please.”

Seth took his usual place and adopted the familiar pose, but the placement of his arms was just a little odd. He knew better. Elinor’s lips twitched into a small smile. “That isn’t right, Your Grace.”

“No?” Seth asked, his face the picture of innocence. “You’ll have to instruct me, then.”

Elinor was suddenly conscious of Letty’s eyes on them. If Seth didn’t care about being perceived as too intimate, she didn’t either. “Of course,” Elinor said.

She approached Seth, drawing so near to him that he tipped his head back to hold her gaze. “I am hoping to speak to you alone,” he murmured.

“I was hoping for the same,” Elinor whispered. “It may be difficult to arrange, especially since it seems that—that some of your household already suspects that I may be too fond of you.”

Seth sighed. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t look especially distraught either. “I might be the cause of this,” he admitted. “I told Guillan not to tell anyone.”

Was that the Earl? Elinor thought it might be. “Maybe he didn’t tell anyone.”

Seth shrugged. “Maybe not. I suppose that eventually everyone would’ve learned, anyway. We can only hide this so long,” he said, keeping his voice low. “And that was partly what I wanted to talk to you about. How do you imagine this ending?”

“I don’t like to imagine it ending,” Elinor murmured, feigning as though she were brushing a bit of dirt from the seat upon which he sat.

“Not in that way,” Seth replied. “But I know your views on marriage, and…”

Marriage.

Elinor felt a surge of fondness for him remembering her views on the subject. “I’ve been thinking about that. It seems like such an important step, such a large one, too.”

“And you’re hesitant to take it?” Seth asked. His voice was so gentle and considerate that Elinor felt everything inside her soften and melt.

“A little,” Elinor admitted, keeping her voice quiet. “There are just so many things for us to think of before—before we decide something like that.”

Elinor still heard Letty moving around somewhere behind her, but given what Letty seemed to have heard about Elinor’s relationship with Seth, Elinor strongly suspected the young maid was more pretending to be busy than actually working.

“I agree,” Seth said, “and I want you to know that it’s fine if you want to be careful about how we do this. If you want to be slow about it. I won’t be in London until Spring.”

Elinor realized, then, that there was a reason to be urgent. Seth was supposed to be marrying during the Season, and although she didn’t doubt his affections for even an instant, Elinor felt her chest twist with guilt when she thought about Seth surrounded by all those proper ladies, vying for his affection. Could she truly ask him not to wed one of them, when she herself refused to move forward and take a chance on their love for one another?

She let out a sharp breath of air, feeling unsteady. Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Have I upset you?”

“No,” Elinor replied, smiling. “I shall cherish every moment together until then.”

She swept away from him. If Letty was paying them any attention, Elinor knew she couldn’t stand that near Seth for much longer. She could only claim to be adjusting his pose for so long.

“So,” Seth said lightly. “How is your morning faring?”

Elinor smiled and took her brush. “It’s nice. I’m doing what I enjoy.”

Seth’s eyes sparkled. “That’s always a good way to begin one’s morning.”

Elinor painted a thin streak of white over Seth’s face, her eyes narrowing as she looked along the line of his scars. She wondered if the years would make them appear less pronounced or if instead, they would become bolder as Seth aged and wrinkles began branching new paths through the old marks. There was something beautiful about aging and how time changed one’s face.

“And how did you begin your morning? With something you enjoy?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Elinor felt herself flush and averted her gaze, but she smiled to let him know just how pleased she was. “I imagine that would be managing the events of the dukedom.”

He grinned. “That is precisely it. How ever did you guess?”

Elinor traced another line down the curve of his jaw. Her lips settled into a soft smile, as she let her gaze flit between her portrait and Seth. He tried and failed to keep his face composed. It seemed as though he couldn’t keep himself from smiling, but that was fine. Elinor knew well enough what he looked like. She was fairly sure that she could begin the painting anew without him ever posing for her again and still produce an accurate depiction of his face.

“I imagine that’s how you spend most of your mornings,” Elinor said, “in your office and gazing at your papers.”

“Sometimes. You can thank your uncle for many of those papers.”

My uncle.

Elinor wasn’t entirely sure what to think of him. He’d seemed…strange that morning, and despite the glowing happiness she felt, brought by acknowledging her love for Seth, Elinor instinctively felt as though there was something foreboding right around the corner.