Page 29 of Courting Claudia

“Claudia, what has gotten into you?”

“Nothing. I only wanted us to be closer.” She stood too. “Richard, we’ve been together for a long time, and you’ve never so much as kissed my hand.”

“I was waiting until we were properly engaged.”

That certainly proved that Mr. Middleton was not a proper gentleman. He’d said that any man who’d been courting her as long as Richard should have kissed her countless times. And now she’d gone and offended Richard.

She would never learn.

“I’m afraid I must go. I shall see you later.”

“Richard.” She put her hand on his arm. “I wanted to be closer to you. Don’t you ever want to kiss me?” She asked the question without realizing that the answer could be something she wasn’t prepared to hear.

He glared at her hand resting on his arm, so she pulled it away. “I will not have this discussion with you. Proper gentlemen and ladies do not discuss such things. Good day, Claudia.”

He couldn’t have made her feel any worse if he’d laid a shilling by her side. She’d worked several scenarios over in her mind of her and Richard’s first kiss, and none of them had played out like this.

This led her to two conclusions. One, this had nothing to do with propriety and everything to do with Richard not desiring her. Second, if Richard didn’t desire her, there was no way that Derrick did. Not really.

Chapter 6

Claudia waited in the hall for Derrick’s assistant to see if Derrick was busy. Perhaps she should start making appointments before arriving. That wouldn’t be necessary though, she reminded herself, as this was a one-time meeting. She’d never before shown anyone her preliminary illustrations, but he’d been so curious to see them in the garden. It was so freeing having someone to discuss her illustrations with.

She felt the heat of shame color her cheeks. Derrick was deceiving her, pretending to court her. And allowing herself to be deceived in such a manner was foolish. But the vanity regarding her drawing was too much of a pull.

It felt as if he truly understood, truly appreciated her talent. Pride swelled in her chest, and she bit her lip to keep from smiling like a fool. It was unusual, this feeling of being recognized. Of course, he did have financial reasons to appear enthusiastic about her talent.

From this moment on, it would be strictly business between them. No more stolen kisses. No more fantasies about stolen kisses. She had a problem with Richard she needed to sort out, and she didn’t need Derrick Middleton and the girlish fantasies he evoked getting in the way.

She would show him the illustration, get his opinion, then be on her way. She tilted her chin and gave herself a little nod of approval.

Mason opened the office door and held it for her. “He’ll see you now.”

“Thank you.”

She walked in and noted for the first time how orderly his office was. A bookshelf lined the right wall and was filled with leather-bound volumes. Derrick sat behind a large mahogany desk that was clean of everything but the papers he was currently working on. He gave her a crooked smile.

“That will be all, Mason,” he said. “What can I do for you today, Miss Prattley?”

“Such formalities. I don’t recall you being quite so formal the last time I saw you, Mr. Middleton.” She hated to be haughty, but perhaps if she acted the prude he would cease his attentions.

He leaned forward. “Are you flirting with me?”

She couldn’t even successfully pretend to be a prude. “Heavens no.” She walked forward and sat across from him. This was a business meeting, and the sooner he realized that, the better. “I brought my preliminary drawing in. It’s only a sketch, but you expressed interest. I know it’s not customary for me to bring my work in personally; I usually send it by courier, but I was in the neighborhood.”

He walked around the desk and sat next to her. “You don’t have to make excuses to come see me, Claudia. My door is always open to you.”

His breath warmed her arm when he spoke. He was too close.

“I’m not making excuses.” She was, and she knew it. He knew it too, which made the entire situation embarrassing.

Her vanity, how little she had of it, would get her into trouble. She should keep her distance from him, but while she recognized that, she didn’t want to. She enjoyed his company, enjoyed their conversations. She also very much enjoyed their kisses, but she tried not to think about that.

She retrieved the drawing from her bag and handed it to him.

She watched him examine the parchment. He took the time to really look at it, didn’t merely glance at it, then put it aside.

“Excellent. Your detail gets better with every illustration.”