Page 9 of A Deal with an Artistic Lady (Marriage Deals #2)

The Montwood drawing room was three times the size of the Haworth drawing room. Hannah had grown up believing – quite rightly – that her parents were of affluent standing and their homes were luxurious. Whilst she still held this gratification, when faced with the enormity of the Montwood home, the comparison demonstrated distinct disparity. She could scarcely believe the height of the ceilings; she looked up at the delicate engravings in the coving, marvelling that artists had produced such intricate and beautiful creations.

Anne did not respond when Hannah bid her good morning. Caleb muttered his greeting and Emmeline bounded like a happy puppy with her delightful chatter.

‘And what a morning! Did you see from your casement window, Hannah? The beautiful cherry blossom?’

Hannah smiled, grateful for the warm interaction.

‘I did. It is quite stunning.’

Anne looked haughtily at her son.

‘The blossom tree is next door at the Aitken’s. If their blossom falls upon my lawn it should quite ruin the turf. See to it that Palmer rakes the garden today, won’t you Caleb?’

Emmeline smirked slightly at her mother’s cantankerous nature and – on seeing Hannah’s face fall – caught her eye and treated her to a cheeky eye roll at her mother’s expense.

Having eaten very little on her wedding day, Hannah now found herself to be ravenous. The display of pastries and baked goods was splendid and she added a few items to her plate, though did not reach for the buttered toast which was closer to Anne, as she could feel her mother-in-law closely scrutinising everything she put upon her plate.

Hannah sat rigidly and tried to eat slowly, constantly dabbing at the sides of her mouth, keen not to gift Anne any ammunition with which to cut her down.

‘We have guests this evening,’ Anne announced loudly.

Caleb turned to her ‘Whom are we expecting?’

‘The Fairfaxes!’ Anne declared gleefully and – quite unexpectedly turned to address her daughter-in-law for the first time.

‘Are you acquainted with the Fairfax family, Hannah?’

Hannah had just taken a bite of brioche and forced a quick chew and swallow to enable her to answer without disgracing herself. Caleb noted that his mother had timed the question to ensure this exact scenario would play out and he watched his mother with disdain as Hannah hurried her mouthful.

‘Why, I do not believe I have had the pleasure-’ Hannah began.

‘No, of course. They mostly socialise with the upper echelons of society,’ Anne interrupted. ‘But you will adore them Hannah, I am quite sure. Lady Lucinda is a darling girl; I do so hope she will regale us with her piano playing and angelic singing voice this evening!’

Caleb sighed heavily and Hannah envisaged a precocious ten-year-old who was likely bid to perform for her parents’ friends and contemporaries at each social gathering. Hannah liked children – perhaps Caleb found their company tiresome, but Hannah decided it would be lovely to meet the Fairfaxes and hoped she might yet make friends within this new circle.

‘Do you play the piano well, Hannah?’ Anne asked pointedly.

Hannah fumbled and was poised to answer that she didn’t play at all, when Caleb dropped his serviette to the table and stood.

‘Hannah, should I show you the house? The ‘grand tour’ as it were?’

His suggestion was quite sudden and unexpected. Hannah had assumed after breakfast that he would disappear to his study and leave her to her own devices – certainly, that is the practice he had conditioned her to anticipate, given his little speech in the carriage the past afternoon.

Hannah quickly finished her mouthful once again and accepted.

‘Thank you – that would be quite wonderful.’

She was sad to leave half her brioche on the plate – she was still so hungry, yet if Caleb was offering this olive branch, she surely had to welcome his benevolence.

Caleb was already striding out of the room – he seemed keen to leave and so Hannah excused herself politely and rapidly followed him. Emmeline gave her a sweet little wave as she went and Anne adopted her usual glowering stare.

Caleb moved with eagerness through the corridors of his home, stopping and opening doors for Hannah to enter within. Once they arrived at each room, he would slow and allow her time to look about, offering only the name of the room by way of description.

‘Dining room…..Parlour….Ballroom…’

Hannah was overwhelmed by the opulence of the house. Every room had a chandelier – even the downstairs bathroom. Caleb did not show her to the back-of-house areas or staff quarters, but she would not have been surprised if they, too, had golden banisters and silver-plated picture frames.

They walked in silence despite each of them hunting in their minds for some conversation to make the experience less awkward.

As Caleb opened the door to the formal dining room where they were due to dine that evening with their guests, Hannah’s eyes fell upon a superb oil painting above the fireplace mantle. She was drawn to it and walked over, staring up at it in awe. It was a stunning depiction of a seaside scene at sunset, with moored boats bobbing in the orange light. Hannah took in a deep breath as she indulged in it and swallowed hard as she noted the heavy gilt frame around its perimeter. She should look forward to the evening more now that she knew she could luxuriate in the presence of such a grand piece of art.

Realising she had stood staring at it for nearly a full minute, Hannah dragged her eyes away and turned to rejoin Caleb, who was standing in the doorway watching her. His brow furrowed slightly as she walked toward him – she worried that he had grown impatient waiting for her, but then his eyes flickered away in embarrassment and she wondered if he was trying to figure her out in the same way she could not fathom him out.

They resumed their silent tour but as they passed a wall of coloured tiles, that Hannah reached out to touch, enjoying the texture beneath her fingers, she commented;

‘You have a beautiful house,’

Caleb seemed surprised that she had broken the silence and stopped walking to turn to her.

‘It was my father’s pride and joy. He always preferred the town-house to the country estate.’

‘I am sorry I did not have the honour of meeting him. My father speaks very fondly of him,’ Hannah said softly, unsure how raw the loss still may be for the Duke.

He nodded curtly and continued to walk. Hannah followed once again, resuming their mutual culture of quiet.

‘Parlour…’ Caleb announced as they turned into a bright room on the ground floor. The flooring was tiled and the expanse of windows looked out onto the gardens, where Hannah could see the cherry blossom Emmeline had cooed over and Anne had demanded be gotten rid of. She stood looking out the window and Caleb, instead of standing by the door, walked into this room.

He paused halfway and took a breath as though he were about to speak which made Hannah turn expectantly.

‘This room…’ Caleb spanned about, his arms wide. ‘Is yours. To do with as you please.’

Hannah inhaled in astonishment and she felt Caleb’s eyes alight on her as she turned to look at the room again – this time with a fresh perspective of the expanse of space. There was so much opportunity for easels, canvases, experimentation of light and colour… Hannah felt her mood lift significantly at the prospect of creativity and as she looked back at her husband, she saw her joy reflected in his eyes that watched her closely.

‘Thank you!’ Hannah smiled breathlessly. To Caleb, it was a redundant room that he could give with no compromise to himself. To Hannah, it was everything.

‘One last room…’ Caleb interjected, turning from the space and Hannah happily followed, though her mind was already plotting how to furnish her new studio.

There was no hesitation in her mind as to what she would utilise the space for. She noted that the floor was not carpeted, which was beneficial for an area to be used for painting. The light was perfect and the windows were openable so she could rid the space of the smell of the oil paints. Her heart beat quickly at the prospect of having her own art studio and she tried to calm herself down – she had to be present and attentive as Caleb showed her the house. He had offered that room generously and in turn, she had to afford him the respect of her focus.

Across the hallway, Caleb pushed open heavy wooden double doors and the air instantly changed. From the draughty, cool hallway, they were transported into an intimate, closeted space of warmth and stillness. Hannah breathed in the dusty, papery scent and her eyes lit up as she looked around and up at the copious quantities of volumes of books. The leather binding of many spines added richness to the scent of the room.

‘Oh!’ Hannah breathed in wonderment as she crossed over to a shelf to peruse the many books. Caleb enjoyed the inspired reaction the library ignited in Hannah and as she turned to look at him, he felt a connection with her. Here was a lady who loved books – her eyes sparkled in the silent understanding that they shared this affinity.

Hannah tentatively reached out and touched the spine of a book and Caleb tingled as if it had been his own spine she touched.

‘This is wonderful…’ Hannah quietly admired.

‘It is my favourite place,’ Caleb acquiesced.

Hannah turned to him and smiled. He had shared a part of himself for the first time – she appreciated this was not an easy benefaction for him.

This concluded the tour of the house, but Caleb felt reluctant to leave the peace and intimacy of the library and it seemed Hannah did too, so he crossed to the shelf adjacent to where she stood and selected a book – she watched him and he looked to her and nodded towards the shelf, inviting her to select one.

Hannah was reminded of the time she kept the little sparrow in her bedroom – she had asked the governess to take her to the library and there she had procured a dictionary of English Garden Birds. She’d studied it and learned what she should feed the little bird and how to treat him. The library had been her friend that day and she had remained fond of them since. Hannah enjoyed learning – she often had a question burning for an answer and the library was yet to fail her in her pursuit of knowledge.

Meekly, she bent to read the titles running along the spines and tentatively selected a book, gently sliding it from between the others and looked to Caleb again, as if to check this was acceptable. He blinked softly by way of admission and Hannah smiled, carefully opening the book to analyse the first page.

‘Which did you select?’ Caleb broke the silence.

Hannah held up the book to show him and cautiously replied ‘Fine Art.’ She said it apologetically, testing his reaction to her preference.

Caleb merely nodded and looked down at the book he was holding.

After a moment, he responded ‘Good choice.’

Hannah felt her chest rising at his approval.

‘You may take it to your room to read at your leisure,’ Caleb offered. ‘Any of the books here – they are yours as much as they are mine.’

Hannah marvelled at the books and her eyes sparkled as she looked around at them. Caleb warmed to her enormously seeing this – how fortunate that the wife his father had chosen for him should also love literature and learning.

‘Thank you,’ Hannah almost whispered, looking the most relaxed she had in all the encounters they had experienced.

‘You are most welcome,’ Caleb said and he meant it.

***

Hannah curled up on the window seat in her bedchamber, looking down at the street below, where people scuttled about in their finery. She liked that they couldn’t see her three floors above them. She thought how exciting it would be to create a painting of the street from above – especially if she set it on a rainy day, so the colours would blur and meld together in flashes of hurry as people darted for shelter.

There was a knock at her door and she invited the caller in. It was Lucy, her maid.

‘Your Grace; a letter from Lady Sophia Camden…’ Lucy held out the envelope and Hannah practically jumped from her seat to retrieve it.

‘Oh! Thank you!’

Lucy departed with a curtsey and Hannah ripped the letter open to read right there in the centre of her room.

The beginning of the letter expressed her most heartfelt sentiments regarding how she hoped her friend felt settled and accepted into the bosom of the Montwood family and genuine wishes that she was happy. The second part bore exciting news – Sophia told how her cousin Nathaniel was hosting an Art exhibition in two days’ time and had extended an invitation keenly to Hannah in the hope she should attend along with Sophia.

Hannah’s heart swelled at the prospect of time with her friends, in her favourite setting; an Art exhibition. She now felt grateful that the Duke had been so generous with his notification to her that she should spend her time how it pleased her to do so and that she would not have to rankle with him for permission to attend. Immediately, Hannah retrieved a piece of paper from her drawer and sat at her desk with inkwell and quill to write back to her friend accepting her exciting invitation.