Page 33 of The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish
Zander thought about that. “About twenty miles from here. It’s quite a drive, but if you set off early, you should still have plenty of time with Jasper and Sam.”
“Twenty miles?” Jonny echoed.
“Don’t worry,” Zander said. “You can have the carriage and our coachman.”
But that offer didn’t seem to make Jonny any happier. In fact, as he gnawed at his lower lip, he looked downright worried.
“Look, why don’t you come up to the house,” Zander said. “You’ll need to write a note for the messenger to take back anyway. We can have a talk about the arrangements before you decide what to do.” He smiled at Jonny. “It sounds as though they’ve have gone to quite a bit of trouble to arrange this.”
“Jasper’s a good friend,” Jonny murmured, his eyes back on the letter. “Sam too.”
He looked hopeful and sad at the same time, and Perry made a resolution then and there that, if it was within his power, he’d make sure Jonny was able to meet with his friends.
Having decided that, he threw off the curtain-cloak and headed for his discarded clothing. “If we’re going back to the house, I’d better get dressed.”
“And I’d better clean these brushes,” Jonny added.
“All right, I’ll leave you two to sort yourselves out, then,” Zander said. “You’ll find me and Adam in the library when you come back to the house. I’ll have the kitchen send up tea and cake.”
By the time Perry was dressed, Jonny had dealt with his brushes and was shouldering into his own coat. Jonny locked up the hut, and they headed back to the house.
It was only a quarter hour’s walk, and for the first few minutes, they were silent. Usually, Jonny chattered away when they walked together, but today he seemed distracted and caught up in his thoughts.
Soon they were passing through the gate at the end of the wild garden that led into the orchard where the trees, some espaliered against the stone walls and others freestanding, were heavy with fruit. The plums and cherries were already ripe and were being used by the kitchens, but the apples and pears would not be ready to pick for a while longer.
“I’ve heard you mention Jasper before, haven’t I?” Perry ventured at last, when Jonny was still quiet. “Is he one of the friends you mentioned you’ve painted?”
Jonny glanced at Perry, blinking distractedly, then seemed to register the words belatedly. “Yes. I painted him and Sam as Ampelos and Dionysius.”
“The grapes fellow,” Perry said, nodding.
Jonny’s mouth quirked. “That’s him.” He paused, “In Jasper’s case, he’s returned the favour.”
“Returned the—? Oh, you mean he’s painted you?”
“Yes, he’s an artist too, though he works in oils and paints landscapes mostly. He painted me when we were younger and he was exploring different techniques and subjects.”
“Is that how you met? Because you’re both artists?”
“No, we met at school.”
“Oh, does he know Adam too?”
“A little, but not very well. Adam’s father took him out of Fletcherfield once he realised how unhappy Adam was. I became friends with Jasper after Adam left. We only started talking when Jasper learned I was good at drawing. He was a year and a bit older, which feels like a decade when you’re fifteen—he wouldn’t have deigned to notice me otherwise.”
Perry gave a snort of laughter. No one was more aware of hierarchy than a fifteen-year-old boy, that was true.
“Was it Jasper who encouraged you to paint?”
“Funnily enough, it was more the other way around—I encouraged him. Jasper’s family didn’t approve of him being an artist.”
“But yours did?”
“Since it led to my great-uncle—who was a keen art collector—leaving me the bulk of his estate, it’s fair to say they were not entirely displeased.”
Perry’s eyebrows went up. “That sounds like a bit of good fortune.”
Jonny quirked a smile. “It was rather. My father wasn’t delighted that I ended up better off than him, but he was happy enough to accept my help in setting up my sisters with decent dowries and establishing my brothers.”