Chapter Seven #2
Rather than pretending otherwise, he said, “I do find her interesting. She is bright and beautiful. She came into the shop the day before we left for town. We wound up walking down to Mrs. Little’s and having tea together.
” He swallowed. “But there is nothing between us, Henry,” he assured his friend.
“But you would like there to be, wouldn’t you?” Henry pressed.
“I see now that a woman such as Lady Justina would be beyond my reach. After all, she is an earl’s daughter.”
“David, you are an earl’s son,” his friend countered.
He smiled ruefully. “I may be, but I have neither a title nor the income needed to keep a lady such as Lady Justina as a wife. She is accustomed to a life of luxury. I will be a mere shopkeeper, working for my living when we return to Kidsgrove, residing in a small cottage, cooking for myself.”
Henry placed his hand upon David’s shoulder.
“I will not pursue anything with her,” he promised.
“She seemed unique. Any woman would be fortunate if you asked them to share a life with you, David. I do recall how Lady Justina was quite dismissive of the Season. I have to consider my future. I am to be a duke, which means I will be a leader within Polite Society. So will my duchess. Now that I think about it, Lady Justina would be a most unsuitable candidate for that role.”
Doubt filled him. “You are not just saying that, Henry, simply because I have an interest in her?”
“No, I will need to think carefully regarding the ladies I will woo during next Season. A duke and duchess have a heavy responsibility weighing upon their shoulders. Something tells me that Lady Justina would not fit into that role successfully.”
“I still have her landscapes we brought with us. Might you visit a few art dealers with me tomorrow? Then we can return home the next day.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me, my friend.”
Henry rang for the butler and showed him the shelves of books which must be packed into crates and transported to Kidsgrove. Since no other male servants were on staff, Henry asked the butler about leasing a wagon and hiring a couple of men to deliver the crates to Cumberland.
“I have a cousin who would fit that bill, my lord,” the butler replied. “Shall I contact him?”
“Please do so. If your cousin can load these books up and leave for Kidsgrove immediately, all the better.”
The next day, they took Lady Justina’s paintings to an art dealer, where Henry introduced David and himself.
Henry casually dropped his father’s title into the conversation for good measure and then had the dealer review Lady Justina’s paintings to see if they might be something he was interested in displaying and selling.
He liked her work and said he would need to give it some thought since he had recently taken on three new artists.
They moved on to a second dealer who was much more enthusiastic. Mr. Layton praised the landscapes.
“I have visited the Lake District twice myself, and I recognize these places. I have many customers who also journey to the Lake District, and they would enjoy owning a painting depicting places they have seen during their visits, especially ones which so closely resemble these familiar landmarks.”
“So, you would be interested in buying these paintings? Or would you merely display and sell them for the artist?” David asked.
Mr. Layton turned his attention to Henry, which did not surprise David.
“My role would be to display the paintings and take a commission from the sale of any. I most definitely wish to take these on for you, Lord Marbury. And I would take more if the artist has completed others. I am assuming J. Fulton is a local,” he continued.
“I would be happy to represent Mr. Fulton’s work. ”
“Shall we see if these sell first, Mr. Layton?” Henry asked. “If they do, then I am certain the artist would be more than happy to have you represent him beyond these four pieces.”
Henry then negotiated a deal where Justina would receive a healthy percentage of the sale of each of the four paintings, with the dealer keeping the rest. He gave Mr. Layton his address at Norwood, saying he would act as the agent and go-between for Mr. Layton and Mr. Fulton for now.
“If all four of Mr. Fulton’s landscapes sell, he may wish to have his own representative regarding future transactions,” Henry continued. “Mr. Rochester and I were merely coming to town and agreed to bring these four pieces along with us to see if any dealers in town might be interested in them.”
Smiling, Mr. Layton said, “I will easily sell these four, my lord. I already have a few buyers in mind whom I will approach. You—and Mr. Fulton—will be hearing from me soon.”
Once they left Mr. Layton and were in the carriage, Henry said, “I see that Lady Justina is only using her initial instead of her name. I went ahead and let Mr. Layton believe she was a man since you did not correct that impression.”
“Lady Justina shared her reasoning with me when I agreed to take her paintings to town. She believes there would be an inherent prejudice amongst buyers regarding her art simply because she is a woman. I tend to agree with her. If it became known, her art might not sell—or at least sell for a lesser price.”
“Then we shall keep her secret as long as she wishes us to do so,” Henry declared.
“I am happy we found a dealer who believes he can sell her work. I look forward to telling her the good news.”
“Since this is our last night in town, I told Cook that we would be dining out this evening. How would you like to go to White’s for dinner?”
“Regretfully, I am not a member.”
“I am, however, and I am allowed to bring a guest if I wish. I have only been to White’s once myself, just after I finished university and before I left for the continent. I recall the food was quite good.”
“If we are close and it keeps from inconveniencing your staff, then why not?”
They reached the gentlemen’s club and were admitted. A Mr. Pollard introduced himself, and Henry gave his name. Immediately, the man brightened.
“Ah, Lord Marbury. How is His Grace doing these days? It has been a long time since we have seen either of you.”
“His Grace is in excellent health, Mr. Pollard. Thank you for asking. This is my good friend, Mr. Rochester. We were hoping to dine at the club this evening.”
“I can see that you are seated now if that is convenient.” Pollard looked up and motioned to a man, who quickly hurried over. “Tommy, see that Lord Marbury and Mr. Rochester are given the finest table in the dining room.”
“Yes, Mr. Pollard.”
The wait staff was attentive, and as Henry had claimed, the food proved to be tasty. They dined upon rare roast beef, halibut, and carrots that were sweet and crunchy. The wine was smooth and mellow. David was glad to have the experience.
They were having a slice of apple pie, with dollops of cream atop it, when a group of four men entered the dining room, their voices raised, their laughter boisterous. From their flushed appearance, he thought they had been drinking heavily.
Then he stilled as they came to the table next to his.
Claude was one of them.