Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“Ioften think of this gallery as a collection of ghosts.” The voice might have been soft, but it still startled Lucy.
She was standing in the gallery of Redmoor Hall, entranced by the various portraits she had heard Elizabeth made of her siblings.
“Your Grace!” she exclaimed, turning to see Marianne standing behind her.
She felt especially guilty that she was contemplating Daniel’s portrait in particular.
He looked around twenty in the portrait, with windswept hair, exotic-patterned clothes, and sad eyes.
She had been wondering how young he was when he had started traveling, but his eyes looked melancholy for someone who had started exploring the world.
“I beg your pardon,” she added, bobbing a deep curtsy. She quickly smoothed her skirts, painfully aware of how cheap the fabric looked, especially compared to Marianne’s effortlessly beautiful cream lace and silk. “I did not mean to intrude.”
“Lady Lucy, there is nothing to apologize for. Elizabeth is proud to have made portraits of all of us. And don’t act so formal with me. It is a lovely day of sharing and exploring. I’ve seen your work earlier. You have talent. Therefore, it is understandable that you may want to see the gallery.”
“Thank you,” Lucy said, her voice barely above a whisper. The tension in her body eased a little. “It is a beautiful room with so many stories to tell.”
Her eyes were again drawn to Daniel’s portrait.
The fabric of his coat was heavy and intricately embroidered, boasting of a style that reminded her of Florence’s master tailors.
She had never been to the place, but the midnight colors would be what she would attribute to its dusk.
While he was serious and sad in the portrait, he also had a rakish aura about him.
He looked like a young, homesick adventurer.
“We all had to sit for hours every day for a whole week!” Marianne said as she peered at the younger version of herself and her siblings.
“Elizabeth might be gentle and unassuming, but whenever she holds her paintbrush, she can be a tyrant. Meanwhile, Daniel here had just returned from his first journey through the Ottoman Empire. Everyone was excited about his return. He came home with beautiful fabrics and several stories.”
“A-and y-yet, he looks different. He does not look like the eager brother with several stories,” Lucy remarked, her eyes tracing the line of his jaw.
“His appearance shows signs of his adventures, but his eyes seem dull. He looks burdened, even. It is almost as if he’d seen something or some things that he would rather forget but could not. ”
Marianne’s expression became somber, wistful, seemingly traveling back in time. The concern on her face was more maternal than sisterly. She was, after all, the oldest among the Brighton siblings.
“My brother feels the weight of the world, then and now. He feels guilty even about things that are beyond his control,” she sighed.
“Why? Why would he feel guilty?” Lucy asked, bewildered.
She might have found Daniel arrogant initially, but she knew better now. He might not think of her as nothing more than someone he had to be polite to, but he certainly was a decent man.
Marianne looked her in the eye. “He believes that he is responsible for saving everyone.”
Was that what it was? Did Daniel think he could also save her from Valentine St. Clair? Or perhaps he was saving her from herself.
“That’s quite a noble way to live,” Lucy said sincerely. “But what about him? Who is protecting him? Saving him? He is too busy saving everyone else. Shouldn’t someone take care of him, too?”
Before she could stop herself, she found herself asking so many questions about Daniel.
She should not have. For now, Marianne was watching her with a small, knowing smile. She must have noticed Lucy’s eyes wander to the lawn, where the archery match took place.
“Well, I do believe Daniel is close to finding an answer. Protectors also need to rest.”
Lucy felt a blush spread from her chest to her neck. Her heart sped up as she realized that Marianne could sense what she was thinking and feeling.
What exactly was she thinking or feeling?
“He is fortunate to have you all as his siblings,” she said softly.
“Lucy? I was looking for you. What are you doing here?”
The familiar voice felt like a bucket of cold water. Joshua had managed to find her again. He stood in the doorway, his frame silhouetted by the light in the hallway.
“I was merely admiring the Duchess of Redmoor’s portraits of her siblings. The Duchess of Oakmere here was kind enough to tell me more about these works.”
“Your Grace,” Joshua acknowledged Marianne. “I am sorry if Lucy is imposing on your time.”
“Do you think I am in any way bothered by her presence?” Marianne asked, raising an eyebrow. “She was not imposing.”
Her firm response had Joshua fall silent for a moment. However, he recovered quickly.
“I thank you for your time, Your Grace. Now, Lucy has to return home.”
Home.
Lucy could not help but compare Joshua to Daniel. The latter seemed more capable of showing that he cared. He was cruel to himself when he could not protect his siblings.
As Joshua led her out of the gallery, her gaze drifted back to Daniel’s portrait.
The yearning in his eyes made her heart clench.