Page 27 of A Deal with an Artistic Lady (Marriage Deals #2)

SIX YEARS LATER

Hannah wandered through the grounds of the Montwood country estate. Tables had been erected on the lawn in the sunshine, with parasols to provide shade. The staff busied themselves laying out plates and lining the tables with glasses for fresh lemonade to be poured.

The guests were due soon and Hannah wished to carry out a last-minute review to ensure everything was as it should be. They had been hosting this annual summer party for half a decade now, since that July five years previous when they had decided to host a party to announce that they were expecting a baby. It had become a tradition since – the second summer was a party to introduce the twins to their loved ones and friends. Once they had hosted a garden party twice in the summer, people had begun to ask what date they should put in their diary for the next one and so it began…

Hannah walked around the side of the manor house to the croquet lawn. The hoops and mallets were all present and then on to the area reserved for a game of battledore. The racquets and shuttlecocks were in a basket, strategically placed.

Rounding the other side of the house, Hannah noted that the maids had helpfully arranged the canvases and paints – along with the mandatory aprons! – for the children to be encouraged to paint and get creative.

She trusted that cook was achieving perfection with the food, as he always did, so she felt satisfied that the whole estate was ready for the guests to arrive. Hannah smiled and tipped her head back, looking up at the blue sky – they were so blessed to have warm, beautiful weather. It had rained only once on the day of their annual summer party and the staff had efficiently relocated all of the games and food stations inside the house. It was still a huge success, but Hannah preferred the freedom of the outdoors and so breathed in the beautiful fresh air and felt grateful.

*

The summer party was in full swing; all attendees had eaten and were now lounging in the sunshine, enjoying each other’s company.

Hannah sat on the newly set flagstones with a sketchbook upon her lap. With a selection of colours, she sketched the twins as they played – a butterfly had flitted past, distracting Colin and Emily from their rock collection and now as they chased the butterfly about in giggles, she quickly mirrored their rapid movements in swift motions across the page. She had improved in capturing moving images and converting them into a still image – living with active young children had certainly taught her to live in the moment and catch time whenever she could. She spent more time with her sketchbook now than her easels and paints – she found a drawing could easily be put down and returned to when the children needed her, where a painting session was not the easiest set-up to deal with distraction.

Caleb looked over her shoulder, marvelling at her accelerated sketching, consistently impressed by how she managed to capture the likeness of their chubby cheeks and cherubic curls.

Upon his shoulders was their two-year-old son, Henry.

‘Mama! Up high!’ Henry cooed and Hannah turned to look at up him with a giggle. From that angle, she could see how like Caleb he was – he already had the dark brow and a mop of silky black hair. His eyes were still bright blue but they would probably darken as he got older. There was a softness about his cheeks that young children possess but a hint of strength in the jawline that he inherited from his father.

‘Another beautiful sketch of the twins,’ Caleb acknowledged, peering down at Hannah’s sketchbook.

‘They’re difficult to catch as they won’t be still!’ Hannah laughed. ‘I must try to sketch Sophia today – one day she will forget how rounded her belly was and how radiant she looked burgeoning with new life!’

‘Good timing – here she comes!’ Caleb indicated across the lawn, where Albert approached slowly, bent low, holding the hand of little Charlotte, their toddler who was just learning to walk, but spending a lot more time bumping on the ground than trekking across the terrain. Albert had patience and a smile for his little girl. Sophia just looked harassed. As she came to join Hannah and Caleb, she pulled out an ornate fan and began swatting it at herself.

‘My goodness, why must you always choose the hottest days for your parties?’

‘It isn’t really all that warm,’ Hannah countered ‘not for those of us who aren’t carrying an eight-month old around in their belly!’

Sophia tried to laugh good-naturedly and slumped herself into a nearby garden chair.

‘Shall I fetch you some cool lemonade, Sophia?’ Caleb kindly offered.

‘Oh, you angel, yes please!’ Sophia huffed as Charlotte climbed on to her lap.

‘Oh! Did I tell you, Hannah, the news of my cousin?’ Sophia suddenly remembered.

‘Nathaniel? Another exhibition?’ Hannah’s interest was piqued.

‘Nathaniel, yes – but not news of his art. He and Claudine are expecting a baby!’

Sophia and Albert exchanged a happy glance.

‘There will be less than half a year between our babies, so they will grow up so close – it’s supremely exciting!’

‘Such wonderful news!’ Hannah exclaimed. ‘You must please pass on my congratulations!’

‘You can do so yourself – Nathaniel will be at the gallery opening next week that we are attending together.’

‘Delightful. Their baby may, in fact be due around the same time as Emmeline…’

Hannah looked across the lawn to where Emmeline sat with her husband, Thomas and their two young children who played on the grass with a wooden car and a wooden doll.

Emmeline caught Hannah and Sophia looking over at her and threw a happy wave in their direction. Next to Emmeline, Anne sat, refined and nodded in their direction with a small smile.

‘She’s much better now, isn’t she – the Dowager Duchess?’ Sophia leaned in and whispered to Hannah.

‘Oh, she has changed, Sophia. I believe it was becoming a grandmother. Within the space of five years she has been gifted five – soon to be six – grandchildren. It is my belief their proximity and tenderness has softened her as a person. But Caleb also has an additional theory. Just as he feared a loveless marriage, she worried that there would be no children to carry along the Montwood family name. She no longer has that terrible fear and so it has allowed her to relax a little.’

They both looked over at Anne, who didn’t look quite as comfortable as some of the other party guests. Her collar was buttoned up to the top, despite the heat of the day and her bonnet fastened tightly under her chin and she fanned herself with slight agitation. Nowadays, Hannah was able to take Anne as she was and not allow herself to be impacted by her occasional offensive remarks. At least they were no longer sculpted to maim, but usually the result of accidental thoughtlessness.

Even as they looked, Anne bent forward and picked up a toy car to offer to her grandson, William. He took it and she patted him fondly on the head.

‘You see?’ Hannah smiled.

‘What a relief!’ Sophia rolled her eyes in jest.

‘Why don’t you play with your cousins, Colin and Emily, Beatrice?’ came a familiar voice from behind them.

Clara and James had walked around the corner of the house.

‘They had a wonderful time with the paints, sister,’ Clara said as she sat down next to her sister. ‘In fact, Abigail produced rather a striking picture of your garden. We were quite taken back, were we not, James?’

James stepped forward, shading his eyes from the angle of the sun. ‘We’re hoping she may have inherited her Aunt Hannah’s raw talent and we may have the next budding artist in the family!’

They all laughed.

‘Is this the last we shall see of you before you board for Africa?’ Hannah implored Clara.

‘It is, Hannah. We set sail next Tuesday morning,’ she grabbed her sisters’ hand with a hint of regret. They had always been close, but since having children of similar ages, they had so much common ground and similar experiences to live through together that they now felt each other’s absence more keenly when Clara’s family were overseas.

Hannah allowed herself a moment of sadness, then regained her spirited enthusiasm.

‘Now, Abigail – are you going to show me this wonderful painting?’ Hannah stood and reached out her hand to her little niece, who happily took her hand to lead her around the garden.

‘Hello Mother, Father…’ Hannah called out as she passed Evelyn and Vincent, who were standing in a shaded part of the garden, each with a champagne flute in hand. ‘Abigail is taking me on an adventure!’ Hannah laughed as her niece practically dragged her along.

Evelyn and Vincent laughed and raised their glasses from where they stood under the mottled shade of the weeping willow tree.

‘She has come a long way, hasn’t she?’ Vincent muttered, half to his wife and half to himself, gazing proudly at his daughter.

Evelyn nodded in agreement. ‘Just six years ago, living at home, sneaking her painting activities in when she thought we weren’t looking…’ they exchanged an amused glance. ‘Still a girl, really. Then suddenly married, a Duchess, a successful, renowned artist breaking boundaries, and a mother of three!’

‘You thought me foolish honouring the marriage contract with a deceased man, which had been arranged too many years in advance…’ Vincent reminded her gently.

‘Sometimes things work out,’ Evelyn shrugged playfully, reluctant to admit her initial reservations.

‘I also do not attribute all Hannah’s successes to her lucrative marriage,’ Evelyn reprimanded Vincent. ‘Her talent is all her own and she would have showcased it eventually, whether or not she had become Duchess…’

Vincent looked back over at Hannah who was now pointing at a canvas painting on the lawn talking animatedly with her little niece.

‘I believe you are correct, my dear.’ Vincent nodded with a nostalgic smile.

*

The annual summer party progressed to dinner and the grand dining room was filled with loud chatter and laughter, chinking of china and cutlery as the guests indulged in the beautiful food laid out.

Anne leaned in toward Caleb and Hannah.

‘Did I tell you both about Lady Lucinda Fairfax?’

Hannah and Caleb exchanged a glance where they both attempted to stifle a giggle.

‘Whatever is it?’ Anne asked, perturbed.

‘Mother, with most gracious respect, I do hope you’re not going to tell us that she is a maestro on the piano…?’ Caleb allowed his laughter to break free and Hannah giggled along good-naturedly.

Anne looked rather angry for a moment before her face softened and crumpled into a little smile, which developed into a small laugh.

‘Did I formerly report on that rather frequently?’ Anne fathomed.

‘You did, mother…’ Caleb tilted his head, to demonstrate it was intended in good humour.

‘How funny!’ Anne unexpectedly retorted and took a moment for a little giggle.

Hannah’s face dropped in surprise as she realised that – other than when she was with the children – she had never witnessed her mother-in-law genuinely laugh in a moment of organic levity.

‘It’s true that she is-’ Anne continued, smiling. ‘My news, however, is that she and the Marquess she married are due to have a baby in September!’

‘That’s wonderful news,’ Hannah smiled graciously.

‘So many babies!’ Caleb turned to Hannah raising an eyebrow.

‘So much life….!’ Hannah added and she looked around their splendid dining room, surrounded by all those who were important to them. Family, their close friends, elders and infants. A wide range of ages; some who would remain in their familiar homes for ever more and some who would be temporarily lost to far-flung foreign countries. Yet there they were all together for that one fine day.

Compared to six years previous, when she had felt lost, unappreciated, oppressed, and alone, now everything had changed. Once she and Caleb had been able to admit their feelings for one another, every aspect of their lives thrived and blossomed.

Hannah breathed it all in, laid her hand upon her husband’s hand, and sighed happily, content to be in the moment, appreciating all the beauty that had grown from being brave.

-THE END-