Page 4 of The Untamed Heart

“Forbid what?” Sheringham asked with interest.

Miss Foxworthy’s gaze swung back and forth between them.

“It’s our only option, Marcus, you must see that,” Hawkney said, his voice sympathetic but firm.

Marcus set his cup down with a clatter. “But he’s a…a…”

“Yes, I know,” Hawkney replied with a sigh. “But all the same, he’s quite brilliant.”

“And a rude, inhuman, arrogant bastard,” Marcus added bitterly.

“Marcus! Ladies present,” Sheringham muttered.

Marcus turned to glare accusingly at Miss Foxworthy. “I beg your pardon,” he snapped, with obvious insincerity.

Her lips quirked. “Think nothing of it. I’ve heard worse, I assure you. Who precisely is the bastard, though?”

Her words cut through the tense atmosphere, defusing it somewhat. Hawkney laughed softly.

“Lucius Courteney, the Earl of Darenth.”

“Oh, him.” Sheringham sat up, obviously intrigued. “They say he’s a genius.”

“He is. He’s also quite intolerable, the most ill-mannered, most… most infuriating man I have ever had the misfortune to know,” Marcus grumbled, picking up his teacup and taking a deep swallow before remembering it was vile and pulling a face as he swallowed it.

Hawkney shrugged. “Nonetheless, I believe Sheringham and I will pay him a visit this afternoon. It’s nigh on forty miles to Darenth so we’ll have to stay the night, presuming Lucius doesn’t turn us out on the street, which is not beyond imagining. Anyway, don’t expect to hear from us before tomorrow afternoon.”

Marcus sat up, glaring at Hawkney indignantly. “Now listen here—”

“No, my old friend, you listen. I can only deal with one overbearing lout at a time, and as Sheringham is merely ornamental, he does not count.”

“Thank you, Al,” Sheringham drawled, his eyes glittering with amusement.

“You are most welcome.”

Marcus folded his arms. He might have been used to taking orders, but Hawkney was only his superior socially, even if he acted like bloody Wellington when he got the chance. All the same, he’d just as soon avoid Lucius if he could help it. “And what of me? I’m to sit here twiddling my thumbs, am I, while you two halfwits stir up a hornets’ nest?”

“No, my dear fellow, you are going to let Miss Foxworthy get on with her portrait.”

Marcus threw up his hands.

Chapter 2

An Artist’s Eye

Ocean View Villa, Little Valentine, East Sussex, 21st September 1816

Eustacia waited as Colonel Hamilton bade Hawkney and Sheringham goodbye and heard the door close behind them. There was a pause before the man returned. No doubt he was concocting reasons to delay the sitting once more.

He appeared in the doorway, his expression grim, though he scowled at the fireplace rather than directly at her.

“Miss Foxworthy, my friends may have forgotten that you are an unmarried lady, but I have not. Gossip flies in a small town, and it will do your reputation no good to stay here unescorted. You must leave. At once.”

Eustacia’s lips twitched. Well, even she had not expected him to eject her immediately.

“An excellent point, Colonel Hamilton, I thank you for your understanding of the delicacy of my position. So, if you will accompany me for a little walk, perhaps down to the beach? I can sketch you there as well as anywhere else.”

His head snapped around, his dark brows tugging together. “But you have no means of—”