Page 42 of Beauty and the Rake (Endless Love #1)

R oxanne’s walk in the garden turned into a note taking trek. She made penciled notes about various flower beds, flowers, and shrubs. Some were made for a future discussion with the gardener, others were just for her own records. Things like moving plants and shrub trimming.

She finally found herself in front of an elaborate fountain Graham’s grandfather had installed for his countess.

She understood it to have come from Italy as it was quite intricately made.

Her sketch pad was on the terrace. Why hadn’t she brought it?

Wanting to sketch the fountain for a possible painting, Roxanne rushed back and got her charcoal pencil and sketch book.

Sitting on a bench, the sun behind her, she began to sketch.

She rose and occasionally strode over to the fountain to look at the intricate beauty it possessed.

Certainly, she had seen beautiful and elaborate fountains in her lifetime, but she’d never found herself wondering what Graham’s grandfather was thinking when he chose this one.

Now she was speculating and determined it was because of her husband.

This was part of who he was. His heritage.

While sketching, she wondered why the late earl would have put the fountain in this location.

It wasn’t at the center of the gardens, but rather off to one side, hidden by shrubs and roses.

With the location and benches placed around the fountain, Roxanne concluded that it was placed in this spot for privacy.

Privacy for the late countess and her husband to share together.

Unfortunately, there was no one still living from that time, which saddened her because she couldn’t ask questions or hear stories about the fountain.

Perhaps some of the older staff members might recall hearing stories about it.

Even Graham might possibly have some memories of the fountain.

He rarely spoke of his family so she doubted he would remember.

She felt the splash of a large raindrop on her shoulder. Looking up at the sky, she saw the sun being pushed out of the way for a summertime shower. Shutting the sketch pad so it wouldn’t get ruined, she stood up and walked back to the house as fast as she could before the rain came down in sheets.

As soon as she entered the drawing room, she ordered hot tea to warm her up from the dampness.

As she waited for her tea, Roxanne went and retrieved a shawl from her room to ward off the dampness.

Returning to the drawing room, she sat near the fire and began making notes and observations of her experience at the fountain.

Then she began laughing. Graham had planned to take her to the lake, but his plans were thwarted by the fact a work crew was busy working there.

Had they been able to go, they would have been soaked on their way back to the house and who knew what state of undress they might have been in when the rains came.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the footman and butler bringing her tea into the drawing room.

Not needing anything more, she dismissed the pair.

She went over to the cart and found a teapot with two cups along with a plate of seedcake and scones.

Pouring herself a cup of tea, she placed a scone and raspberry jam on a plate.

She walked over to the ivory-colored couch where her drawing pad sat on the table in front of it.

Placing her plate down on the table, she moved her sketch pad to the couch before she put her cup of tea down on the table.

Settling herself on the couch, Roxanne opened the sketchbook she had been working from and turned to the sketch she had started of the fountain.

She studied it closely. There were still a lot of details she needed to sketch before she could start painting, but for the most part she had captured the fountain well.

She was concentrating so hard on the sketch that she hadn’t heard Graham enter. “Did you do that on your walk?” he asked.

“Yes. I plan to paint it once the sketch is done.”

“It’s quite good. Why not paint it outside, in front of the fountain?”

“I may, but I always like having a detailed sketch in case it rains for days or weeks on end. I’m even considering photographing it at different times of the day,” she said.

He walked over to the tea cart. “That would be quite interesting; the light at different angles.” He poured a cup and walked back with his tea and the seedcakes and scone.

With everything placed on the table, he picked up a piece of seedcake and bit into it.

No fork. Just eating it like a naughty boy might.

He didn’t stop until he finished and once he did, Graham licked his fingers, making sure he got everything.

Seedcake was one of his favorites and his cook made sure there was always some on hand.

“Did you get everything settled with my brother?”

“Yes, just needed to respond to a couple of questions and ideas he had.”

“I see.”

“We’re both sure that Crenshaw had something to do with your parents’ disappearance. Whether he did it on his own or plotted with his father is unknown. We’re going to continue our investigation, but carefully so we don’t scare him away.”

Roxanne spread some jam on the scone and took a bite. She waited to finish before she spoke. “I completely agree with that logic. I may not have had a close relationship with my father, but the man was still my sire. He didn’t deserve this.”

“No, he didn’t and neither did your mother. We’ll get to the bottom of it, I promise you that. It may not happen tomorrow; it may be next year, but we will get to the bottom of this.”

“Enough of business. It is still raining. How would you like to spend the rest of the afternoon?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “We could always go to the secret passage and see where we might utilize it.”

“I thought we had.”

“We will need to take whatever we need. Blankets, pillows. Things to make us comfortable,” She smiled wickedly in his direction.

He gulped down his tea. “What are we waiting for?” Graham stood, wrapping the remaining seedcake into a napkin. He took her hand and guided her from the drawing room. His most willing countess.

Life would never be dull for either of them.

Despite having started out on the wrong foot, he had fallen in love with Roxanne.

Being persistent had paid off. It took a while, but he showed her he was not the man she remembered.

No longer was he a rake who lived to have fun with women and life.

Now he was a man deeply in love with his wife, his countess.

With that came responsibilities he never believed he would have.

A family of his own to love and protect.

An unexpected chance at fatherhood and a woman who accepted the child to raise and took him for who he was.

Hopefully, soon she would be with child. His child.

Life would be perfect with a houseful of children. There was a time in the not-so-distant past he would have shaken his head in disbelief. Mary changed all that. Roxanne changed all that. He now found himself fulfilled as a man.

He glanced behind him at his wife who still had her hand firmly in his. Turning back around, he grinned. Life was perfect.