Page 13 of Courting Claudia
Claudia’s eyes misted, and she hugged her maid. Baubie had been the only mother she’d had for so many years.
“I had better get back to work. I can tell your father that you’re not feeling well if he asks about you again.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll have to talk to him eventually.”
Once Baubie had left, Claudia retrieved the drawing she’d been working on earlier that morning. Derrick Middleton’s handsome features stared up at her. She’d not intended to include him in the drawing and wouldn’t send this one in, but when she set pencil to paper, he’d been the first image she’d created. Thank goodness, she’d only sketched on paper and hadn’t started on the wood.
There was something not quite right in the likeness. It looked like him, but something was missing. Perhaps she’d gotten a feature wrong. His eyes, she realized. On paper, they didn’t burn with sensuality and intensity. But how did one capture the subtle change in the shade of brown? Or the way his right eyebrow lifted in silent question?
She laid the drawing aside to begin another. One without Mr. Middleton. He probably wouldn’t want himself featured in his own newspaper. And if she presented him with an illustration of himself, he would no doubt think she was smitten, which, of course, she was not.
Putting pencil to paper, she began another drawing. This time, a couple dancing. Amid faceless other dancers, the primary couple took shape. Sharper and sharper their features became, until…Mr. Middleton and herself.
She sucked in her breath. She’d never before drawn herself. And there it was, plain as the image on the parchment; while dancing with Mr. Middleton had made her feel pretty, the truth could not lie. No woman who looked as she did would ever catch a man like Derrick Middleton.
She paused over the picture, considering the number of thoughts Mr. Middleton had consumed since she’d first encountered him. Gracious, some might think her a harlot.
She needed fresh air—time to clear her thoughts and then return to her drawings. Perhaps she should work on her watercolor in the garden. It was a lovely day.
Claudia donned a simple gown of the palest of lavenders, but opted to leave her bonnet inside. Feeling the sunshine on her face would be nice—and she would only do so for a little while, so as to not burn her skin. She’d been hiding inside her bedroom for hours. If her father remained in his office, she could easily sneak out into the garden without his seeing her.
She opened her bedroom door and peeked into the hall, listening for any sounds. All was quiet. Tiptoeing down the stairs, she caught sight of Baubie and waved. Opening the garden doors, she stepped out into the crisp air and took a deep breath.
Her mother had loved the garden. The garden at their country estate had been the most beautiful one in all of Avon. Flowers of every shape and color had surrounded the grounds, and she’d never been able to walk into it without smiling. She didn’t even want to think about what that garden must look like today. After her mother’s death, they’d moved here and hadn’t been back to the country since.
She sat on a bench and looked at the tiny enclosed space. A lovely garden, but so very small. Her mother would have hated it here in London—that was an area in which they differed. Claudia loved it here. Loved the bustle and the streets full of people.
Closing her eyes, she tilted her face up and reveled in the warmth of the sun bathing her skin. The breeze fluttered through the plants around her, while a pair of pipits chirped above her head.
She stood and set up her easel, then went to work on the painting of fruit. As she shaded the cluster of grapes, her mind wandered to a now familiar face. Derrick Middleton. Just the mere thought of him quickened her heart and shortened her breath.
Last night the most amazing thing had happened while she was dancing with the handsome devil. She’d felt almost pretty. Beautiful, if she was completely honest—the way Cinderella must have felt after a visit from her fairy godmother.
But she had no fairy godmother, and Derrick was no prince.
And it didn’t matter how she’d felt in his arms.
“Honestly, Claudia,” she said aloud to chastise herself. Forget about him.
She needed to cease her daydreaming of Derrick Middleton. It was a tiny fancy, that was all—merely because he was so very handsome. And he’d almost flirted with her. It was for that reason and that reason alone that she was attracted to him.
Richard was whom she would marry. Shouldn’t he be the man occupying her thoughts? Richard was steadfast and kind. Derrick, on the other hand, embodied a wilder and more impulsive nature. While that sounded vastly more interesting than a life in the country painting fruit bowls, she would marry Richard because her father had asked her to. Demanded was more the word, but that sounded so harsh.
Derrick would fade from her mind once she married Richard. Years from now, she’d remember the night she’d danced with the handsomest man in London.
“Claudia, I thought I’d find you out here.” Her father approached her with his I’m-more-important-than-everyone attitude cloaking him like a king’s coronation robe. He did not look pleased.
“Yes, well, I came out to get some air and a little sunshine. It’s a beautiful day, don’t you agree, Father?”
He glanced up at the sky and shrugged. “Looks like all the others.” He sat on the stone bench. “Come and sit and tell me about the Draper ball last night.” The multicolored flowers behind him gave the air around him a deceptively calm look. Everything looked better in the garden, she supposed.
She set her paintbrush down and joined him. “It was a lovely evening. I danced with Richard three times. Poppy and I played piquet with Lady Forrester and Lady Primrose. We left early because Poppy’s mother was feeling ill.”
“How is Richard?”
“He’s fine. He mentioned that he would probably be by to see you today. Something about a discussion he had with Lord Dryer.”
“I’m going to the club. I’ll send him a note, and he can meet me there. What are your plans today?”