A Gentleman for Lady Juniper (Clairvoir Castle #6)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

“ F ather, you simply cannot wear your daytime clothing to dinner.” Jack felt the twitch in his eye an instant before it moved. “You must listen to your valet. Tobbs has your best interests at heart, he knows what is and is not appropriate for every given situation.”

“It’s a waste of time, changing clothes for every activity,” his father, Lord Benwaith, looked somewhat mutinous. “Not to mention a waste of good cloth. That tailor we went to will be richer than the king himself with the coin we paid him.”

Jack gritted his teeth and looked to the rest of his family. All of them had gathered in the drawing room so he could look them over before leaving for the dinner at Lord Dunmore’s London house. His mother, his eldest brother’s wife, his second-eldest brother’s wife, and his only unmarried sister Emily were well-turned out in their frocks and fripperies. His two brothers appeared stiff and uncomfortable in their formal evening wear, but at least they looked the part of gentlemen.

And then there was the new earl himself.

“Someone else please explain this to Father,” he said, his temples throbbing with an oncoming headache. “I will check on the status of the carriages.”

There were too many of them to take one carriage, so he’d had to send word to a stable to hire out another for the evening. The baron’s family had no idea the chaos about to descend upon them, but Jack could hardly do anything to stop it.

Eight adults, with the barest understanding of London Society’s expectations, about to dine with a baron. After a mere week with them in their newly inherited townhouse, Jack had pleaded with his father to take them all back to the country house. They were not ready for London, not ready for the haute ton —not ready for any of it.

Jack’s mother had wept and declared that he was ashamed of his family. His father had turned purple with indignation. His older brothers present, Richard and George, had started teasing about their younger brother thinking they were dunces, and Emily had looked at everyone with the wide eyes of a frightened doe.

And so Jack stormed down the steps of the house and stood before the carriages, barely seeing them.

All their remonstrances together had meant they still remained in London, a full month later, little better than they had been before. All Jack had managed was to bring a governess into the house to act as a genteel tutor to his mother, sister, and sisters-in-law.

Though his breath made puffs of steam appear in the air, he didn’t feel the cold. His thoughts were too preoccupied to notice the weather, even if it made his skin prickle.

The men could be idiots if they wished, but Jack wouldn’t stand for the women in their family to go unprepared into the claws of Society’s matrons. They had reputations to lose now.

How often had he seen even the duke’s family express concern over rumor and gossip? If a ducal family didn’t have immunity to such things, his family was especially vulnerable .

He’d witnessed the harshness of the matrons on several occasions; most recently, when the very ladies he would see that evening had been subjected to the harsh dictates of their sister-in-law. Lady Dunmore had fought for their freedom the previous summer, winning it through marriage and a genuine affection with the Irish baron. He hoped the sisters were happier now. They were kind. They deserved better than to remain beneath the scrutiny of their harpy of a sister-in-law.

The frigid February air bit at his skin, the fog of his breath disappearing into the night. Jack’s eyes fixed on the waiting carriages, a flare of irritation warming his cheeks. The tension coiled in his muscles was a familiar sensation, a ghost from his days in the army when the weight of a saber at his hip provided a reassuring presence. Now instead of the practical garb of a soldier, he was draped in the ridiculous finery of a gentleman.

His current attire made no sound as he moved; there were no sabers to rattle, no pistol close to hand, only the whisper of soft, sleek fabrics that fitted along his frame. The deep blue of his waistcoat, embroidered with subtle, intricate patterns, meant to glimmer in the gaslight of proper parlors. It was a far cry from the utilitarian military uniforms he’d been accustomed to, yet as he had dressed earlier that evening, a surprising sense of satisfaction had washed over him. The clothes, crafted by a tailor who wielded a measuring tape with the precision of a cavalryman handling his blade, fitted him perfectly, enhancing both his form and his confidence.

When he’d examined his reflection before leaving his room, a spark of unexpected pride flickered within him. The garments were a declaration that Jack Sterling belonged in his new role. That his family belonged in theirs. He cut a more than decent figure—a realization that, despite his initial reluctance, pleased him more than he would care to admit.

The door opened and closed too rapidly to allow his entire family to exit the house. He didn’t turn, instead counting down again from twenty. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…

His youngest sister’s voice interrupted him. “He is trying, you know,” she said softly, appearing at his elbow in her fur-lined cloak and fresh finery. “We all are. It has been a long day, and all Papa wants is to smoke a pipe in front of a warm fire.”

“I know.” Jack gritted his teeth around the admission. “He has never been afraid of working a full day in his life until now, though, when it matters most to Mother, to Richard, to you.”

“And to you.” Emily leaned into his shoulder. “I understand you are quite the catch now.”

He snorted and barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He’d been told gentlemen didn’t do such a thing, which would take breaking a habit of a lifetime. “Trust me, Emily. No one thinks such a thing after more than a moment’s conversation with me.”

“Perhaps when you were a footman at an assembly or one among many other servants, but now you are a gentleman.” She gave him a teasing grin. “Your silence will strike ladies as mysterious rather than stand-offish.”

“Is that a word? I believe you invented a word.”

“I am a lady. I am fairly certain we are allowed to invent words, or at least not have our attempts commented upon.” She raised her little nose imperiously in the air and pulled a chuckle from him as only she could.

“You will come through this better than most of us, I think,” Jack said, fondness in his voice. “You are indeed a lady.”

“And I will do my part, Jack. I know you worry about all of us—let me help. My role is to find a good husband now, is it not?” She smiled brightly when he gave her a sharp look. “Oh, come now. That’s always a woman’s primary concern, is it not? Rest assured, I am happy to give my full effort to finding a devastatingly handsome and impossibly rich gentleman, marrying well—giving you one less thing to concern yourself about. ”

“Emily. Yes, I hope you find an advantageous marriage, but there is much you do not know about this world. About the men within it.”

“I am certain you will help me learn,” she said softly. “I want you to understand that I am willing and able to do my part, though. I promise.”

The door behind them opened before he could make his answer, and this time Jack looked over his shoulder to see his family coming out in a line down the steps…not in order of precedence, despite him advising they practice such a thing at every opportunity. At least his father had changed, thank goodness.

Once they had settled into the carriages, their travel underway, Jack turned his mind to the rest of the evening.

A formal dinner with Dunmore’s family.

Richard and his wife, Katherine, were of similar mind, as they both said at the same moment, “Tell us about the baron—” Then looked at each other and laughed. Richard gave his wife’s hand a squeeze then they both turned expectant gazes to Sterling.

For all his family’s quirks and stubbornness, they were each of them good people. Jack wanted the best for Richard as the future earl, for his nephews and nieces, for all of them. None of them had asked to be thrust from their comfortable, inconsequential lives in the country to the whirl of London life.

With this reminder at the forefront of his thoughts, Jack answered their query with patience. “The baron is a good man. Honorable and fair. He is one of the least pretentious people I have ever met. I also think that, while he was born to his position, he will have the most understanding and sympathy for our family’s need to adjust. As an Irish peer, he has had to fight for his place, for acceptance, among the British elite. Just as we must do.”

Katherine nodded along with all he said. “What of his wife? The baroness—she is the daughter of an earl, I believe you said?”

“Indeed. From what I observed of Lady Dunmore and her sisters, Lady Juniper and Lady Betony, they are warm-hearted. Friendly.” One specific memory came to the forefront of Jack’s thoughts and he smiled. “They painted me once, when I was a footman. They were not unkind, but asked sincerely if I would mind posing for them. An artistic exercise, they called it. Most of their rank would have made it a demand, an order, for a servant to do their bidding. Yet they ensured I did not mind before they made their arrangements for the activity.”

Emily, sitting beside him, raised her eyebrows. “That still seems a mite high-handed to me. How could you have said no?”

“They gave me every reasonable way to excuse myself.” He remembered well how Lady Juniper had repeatedly expressed concern that they not interrupt his duties. “And they did nothing to make me uncomfortable with my agreement.”

Truly, Lady Juniper’s shy smile had been more than enough for him to acquiesce.

“Uncomfortable?” Emily repeated, head tilted to the side.

Richard was the one who answered, voice low. “It is not only the female servants taken unkind advantage of in wealthy households, my dear sister, and in ways we prefer not to think on or mention in decent company.”

Emily’s soft, “Oh,” made Jack wince for his sister’s innocence. What made it worse was when she asked quietly, “But Jack, you were never…?”

He patted her hand. “The duke’s household was safe for all who worked there, Emily. On one occasion, I witnessed the duke himself turn out a guest who dared express an inappropriate interest in a governess.”

Katherine cleared her throat. “It is safe to say, then, that all those who come to us through the Duke and Duchess of Montfort are well-vetted and apt to be the good sort. ”

“Quite safe to say so, yes,” Jack agreed, some of the tension leaving the carriage with his lighter tone. “There are decent folk among the ton , and I will do my best to navigate us away from those who would take advantage or seek to do harm.”

“Father is right about you,” Richard murmured with a crooked smile. “You are like a shepherd dog, nipping at our heals so we behave, growling at anyone who comes too near your precious flock. I only hope we do not prove as stupid as sheep.”

“Not all of us, anyway,” Emily teased, grinning at her brothers. “Goodness, I hope this evening goes well.”

They spilled from the carriage shortly after that, hardly speaking another word. Everyone seemed nervous, it rose in the air along with their steamy breaths. It was the first time Jack had allowed the whole family to accept a dinner invitation. Oh, he’d gone with his father and brothers to a few smaller things, less formal with only men in attendance, picking and choosing carefully where he let the men in the family try their new skills—but this was the ladies’ first venture out into Society. He would have to hope they’d return home with their reputations intact.

As they gave hats, cloaks, and coats to the Dunmore servants, Jack again took in his family’s appearance. His father had begrudgingly put on a fine evening suit of clothes, his mother wore a gown appropriate for a matron without it being overly gaudy as some older women might choose, his brothers looked well, his sisters-in-law stood close together in gowns of similar color but different cuts, and Emily was the very picture of a wholesome, unwed lady.

Their entirely appropriate attire gave him a moment of hope. Not a long moment, or a particularly satisfying one. But it flickered, nevertheless. Perhaps if they dressed well enough, people would overlook other issues.

They ordered themselves easily for entering the drawing room, where their hosts waited, and Jack held his breath. He escorted Emily into the room behind the others as Lord Dunmore made introductions. Jack kept his eyes on his father and Richard most often while Dunmore introduced each member of his family, all the way down to his two unmarried sisters-in-law.

“…and my wife’s sisters, Lady Juniper and Lady Betony Amberton.”

Jack’s gaze flickered to them, hoping they would take an interest in Emily and befriend her, though his sister was of course a few years older than them both. His attention immediately returned to the older of the two with curiosity, seeing Lady Juniper’s eyes focused on him. Staring, in fact, rather intently—until she realized he stared back. Then she lowered her eyes quickly to the carpet, her expression neutral.

Lady Juniper looked as well as when he’d last seen her the morning after her sister’s wedding. He’d been on duty when she’d climbed into the Dunmore coach to accompany her sister to Ireland, her eyes aglow with excitement at her coming adventure. She’d even made eye contact with him through the window of the carriage, smiled brightly, and waved. Her happiness had rippled out like water, and he’d nearly forgotten himself and smiled at her.

That she avoided his gaze now seemed…odd.

A momentary concern pinched his heart. Did she not like seeing a former servant as one of their guests for the evening? It was entirely possible, and he could think of no other reason for her stare and then avoidance. Unless…she found the sight of him in something other than livery strange? Perhaps that was all it was—taking her aback by presenting her with something familiar in a new context.

He’d choose to think that, rather than the former possibility, so when she looked up again, he tipped his head forward in acknowledgement. Yes, I am an unexpected sight. But I hope not necessarily unpleasant. He would do his best to set her at ease, if the occasion allowed for it .

He was, after all, a gentleman.

Everything in Juniper’s mind came to an abrupt halt, a clatter and a crash of a stop, the moment Mr. John Sterling met her gaze and returned her stare without so much as a flicker of interest, recognition, or even a pleasant smile. Her initial shock twisted into disappointment.

He didn’t care in the least about seeing her again. He appeared as stoic and solemn as a gentleman of means as he had when he’d stood at attention as guard and footman both.

She’d averted her gaze to compose herself before she blushed with her realization, but when she looked again to see him still staring, her mouth went dry.

Then he nodded, the movement slight and slow, yet it somehow set off a whole flock of geese in her stomach. Miniature geese, to be certain, but given the cacophony of wings beating and wild thrumming inside her, it could only be geese that caused such a thing.

Thank heavens for Betony, who took Juniper’s arm and brought her across the carpet to speak to Sterling’s sister, a lovely, delicate looking creature named Emily.

“It is such a pleasure to meet you at last, Lady Emily,” Betony said, taking the lead as she so often did in social gatherings. “The moment I learned of you, I wished to know everything about you. I hope you will forgive my forwardness, but I have so many questions for you.”

Juniper peeped up at Sterling—Mr. John Sterling—as he stood protectively beside his sister. She experienced a difficult time adjusting to calling him his correct name even in her own mind, as it seemed both inefficient and strange. Goodness, but he’d somehow grown handsomer. The suit he wore was incredibly well made, and the deep blue of his waistcoat drew out the dark blue of his eyes. His jaw was still clean shaven—his dark hair, though, looked different. The cut sharper, still short and military-like, but elegant.

Admiring the man’s hair was ridiculous. She hastily gave her full attention to his sister, speaking to her. “I hope you will forgive our eagerness to come to know you, Lady Emily. Being an earl’s daughter is not without its challenges, and we are happy to share anything we have learned with you if it will make your path easier to tread.”

“You are too kind. I confess, I wanted to meet you the instant I learned of you both.” Lady Emily’s eyes darted between Juniper and Betony. “My brother told me a delightful tale about modeling for you while he was a footman with the duke. Is there any chance one of your paintings was brought to London? I would love to see it.” She cast an impish smile up at Mr. Sterling, whose reaction was a mere raise of his eyebrows.

The word Juniper focused on, though, was ‘footman.’ Perhaps his family did not discuss his true purpose in the duke’s household when they were in mixed company? An acceptable practice, and a detail Juniper tucked away.

Betony answered the question before Juniper could. “Oh, yes. My sister kept hers. Mine was lost in the shuffle from one house to another, but Juniper’s painting is in her portfolio. She keeps several things on hand, no matter where we go. We will have to fetch it after dinner. Is that all right, Juniper?”

Blushing, and not entirely certain she wished to have her work on display, Juniper gave a brief shake of her head. “I-I cannot be certain I know where it is at present. Perhaps another time. It certainly isn’t all that critical to view, though. My skills aren’t enough to make it worthy of study or appreciation.”

The painting’s subject appeared as neutral and uninterested as ever. His eyebrows had even fallen back to their normal position. Another moment passed before he seemed to realize the ladies looked to him and expected him to say something.

Mr. Sterling cleared his throat. “I assure you, Lady Juniper, my sister wants only to find a new reason to torment me. Beyond that, she will have nothing critical to say of the piece.”

Did the man have any idea at all how charming he sounded? The man had a voice her books would describe in all manner of creative, and ultimately impossible, ways. Rough. Solid. Deep. Level. Dark. It wasn’t quite fair that a real man sounded like that and then refused to give answers longer than a sentence or two.

She wanted a monologue; preferably a passionate one which grew in volume until he declared something impossible, such as his wish to court her. Or that he would do anything for a single smile. She would even settle for something less dependent on her as its subject.

Oh dear. Perhaps she had been reading too many novels of late.

Ivy drifted near, serene as ever. “Ladies, I have come to explain the order of precedence for the evening. As we kept the party to our two families, we do not have even numbers of ladies and gentlemen, and the variety of ranks among us will feel rather strange.” She glanced up at Mr. Sterling. “I have already explained to the other gentlemen in your family how we will best practice one of the stricter rules of Society’s evening events. Tonight, as host, my husband escorts the highest ranking woman present in to the room.” She nodded to each lady as she named her. “This is Lady Benwaith, your mother, as a countess. Then your father escorts the next highest-ranking lady who is not his blood relative, your sister-in-law, the viscountess.” She went on to explain that her mother-in-law, the dowager baroness, as an Irish noblewoman, ranked below everyone but those without a title present because the titled Irish went lower in the order of precedence, than the English. “It isn’t ideal, as a more even party is easier, but it is still within appropriate bounds.”

Lady Emily’s eyebrows climbed higher with each word. “It is so much to remember. How will we ever manage in an even larger party?”

“Oh, it gets so much worse once you have to know who is the grandson or granddaughter of someone important, their names won’t match so it can get complicated.” With a calming touch on Lady Emily’s wrist, Ivy reassured her. “But never fear, my dear. The more complex the party, the more likely you are to have the hostess or master of ceremonies come whisper in your ear to whom you ought to look for as your escort.” Then she tipped her head toward Mr. Sterling. “Your brother likely knows as well as any who goes before whom.”

Juniper glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. It seemed no matter how she fought to keep from staring, her attention drew back to him again and again. Unfortunately, he hadn’t met her gaze again. Presently, he was devoting all his focus to Ivy.

Why had Juniper let herself imagine that when he saw her again he’d not be able to take his eyes from her?

“That leaves your sisters unescorted,” Lady Emily protested a moment later, looking to Betony and Juniper. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Indeed. That is why for most parties there are careful arrangements made to ensure there are as many male guests as female,” Ivy said with a smile. “My sisters will manage on their own. We are only going across the corridor.”

“This is why there are entire volumes of books dedicated to delineating who is descended from which noble house,” Betony remarked with a little smirk. “We have several in the library of this house. You are welcome to borrow them, if you would find them helpful.”

“I have ordered several for our collection,” Mr. Sterling rumbled beside them. “Thank you for your thoughtful offer, Lady Betony.”

Why hadn’t Juniper thought to make that offer? And why did she feel so incredibly foolish about everything this evening? She was neither a flighty woman, nor without wit, but she felt she’d become quite silly over a man who had barely said a word to her.

Best to prove to herself she hadn’t lost all her senses. She turned a pleasant smile to the gentleman. “How have you enjoyed London thus far, Mr. Sterling?”

Then immediately berated herself for the inane question.

Yet it worked well enough to get his attention focused on her for a moment. A flash of something in his eyes, something which didn’t appear positive in the least, appeared before his mask of indifference settled again. “I find London as busy, crowded, and large as ever, Lady Juniper.”

The pause that followed his words made her want to turn and flee. He didn’t like London. He didn’t seem to appreciate her attempt at polite conversation, either. Why couldn’t she have said something clever?

“My brother is like my father in that he prefers the country, but he will never admit as much.” Lady Emily gave her brother a glance that read as something between warning and amusement. “For some reason Jack seems to see a threat behind every streetlamp and ruffians in every shadowed alleyway.”

Watching as closely as she was, Juniper noticed the slight brightening of the man’s eyes when his sister said the more familiar version of his given name. Not Mr. Sterling, or John; Jack. It suited him.

The allusion to him seeing danger everywhere, however, made her again question whether his sister knew of his work as a guard. Surely they knew?

“I prefer something between the two,” Betony said, speaking of London and country life. “Give me a smaller sphere, a village with enough people to make for good company, and I am content. My sister is happy so long as she has access to a well-stocked library. But London? I find it fascinating only in the smallest of helpings.”

A bell rang, calling everyone to order for dinner. As they all carefully took their places in line, Juniper and Betony standing side by side behind Jack Sterling and his sister, Juniper tried to recover her sense of self.

Her younger sister leaned in close to whisper, “Are you all right? You look as though you are fighting away a headache. Your expression is pinched.”

“If only that were the problem,” she whispered back. “No, no. I am well.” Even if nothing had gone the way she had dreamed it would.

At least she had an entire season in London to gain Mr. Sterling’s friendship. He presented an interesting challenge. What would it take to make him take notice of her? Precisely what she would do when she had it, she wasn’t entirely certain. She only knew she wanted it; wanted him to look at her with something other than his dutiful expression of stoic responsibility.

Dinner went well. All the conversation remained polite, on topics of food or fashion. Juniper sat between the older brothers and directly across from Lady Emily. That didn’t stop her from sneaking several looks at Jack— Mr. John Sterling , across and down the table from her. He sat with perfect posture, hardly speaking except to murmur direction to his mother or answer whatever it was Betony said to him.

Why had Betony been placed beside him? It made Juniper somewhat envious of her sister, but she kept up her own cheerful conversation with the gentlemen at either side of her who were passably pleasant.

When at last the meal ended, the ladies stood and went across the corridor to the drawing room. The baroness, dowager baroness, and countess all sat together, along with the future Countess of Benwaith. Those four ladies immediately spoke of upcoming events and who had invitations to what, the better to align their social calendars. It looked exhausting.

“Your sister is kind, going to so much trouble to assist my family,” Lady Emily said to Juniper as the two of them settled at a table with cards.

Mrs. George Sterling, whose given name was Susan, joined them and nodded her agreement. “We are most grateful that so many of the Duke of Montfort’s friends are eager to help, though it does strike me as somewhat curious.”

Juniper picked up a deck of cards and shuffled them, looking about for Betony. Her younger sister had slipped away without a word. Hopefully she would return soon and make a fourth for their game.

“Why does it strike you as curious?” she asked as she cut the deck. “His Grace is a remarkable man. I think he rather likes helping the people he cares for.”

“That is just it, isn’t it?” Mrs. George Sterling said with a raise of her eyebrows. “Jack was merely a footman to His Grace. I certainly appreciate the kindness, of course, I am merely surprised that a man with such power would go to any lengths to help a former servant’s family. Even though my father-in-law is now an earl, he cannot hope to have much influence any time soon.”

Lady Emily put a hand on her sister-in-law’s arm. “Forgive us, Lady Juniper. We do not have an understanding of this new world we find ourselves in, and I have been told that people of the duke’s power would only form connections in places where it would be of benefit to his interests. Thus, our agreeable surprise.”

They truly had no idea that their brother had served as a guard in the duke’s household, then? That he had even saved the duke’s family from injury or worse in his time with them? How strange.

“You needn’t apologize.” Juniper dealt out four hands of cards and looked again for Betony. “Most people of higher rank are what you say—looking out for their own selves and their immediate family with nary a care for anyone else. Whatever His Grace’s reason for it, I am glad we are coming to know one another better. It can be difficult to make close friends while in London.” She hoped her words and smile were reassuring to the two newly-minted ladies.

The door opened again and she turned in time to see Betony dipped down by a table, as though putting a thing down or picking it up. She narrowed her eyes at her sister as Betony approached the card table.

“Where have you been? I began to despair of your arrival to play a game with our guests.”

Betony batted her eyes with false innocence that immediately raised Juniper’s suspicions. “I had to fetch something for later. It is of no consequence at present. Shall we play Whist?”

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Juniper and Lady Emily had lost the game of Whist, and the men of the party rejoined them.

John Sterling came directly to his sister’s side, his brows drawn together as though concerned. Did he not trust Lady Emily to their company? Perhaps he merely worried after her comfort. Whatever the reason, that stern look of his brought to mind more than one instance when he had given disapproving looks as a guard.

“Emily. How was your game of cards?” he asked, his voice low and deep.

Juniper had to pinch herself to keep from shivering. It was such a charming voice.

“I am afraid I kept Lady Juniper from victory,” his sister said, turning an apologetic smile in Juniper’s direction .

Juniper glanced away before the gentleman caught her staring at him, giving her full attention to his sister. “Please do not concern yourself on my account, Lady Emily. I am not the best at cards, you can ask my sister.”

She turned to have Betony corroborate her words—but her sister was already out of her chair, going to the table where she had tucked a thing away. Perhaps she had another game to play, or an object to show their brother-in-law, Teague, now he had entered the room.

“Lady Juniper,” Mrs. George Sterling said, drawing her attention again. “When one especially enjoys a particular aspect of a meal, is it polite to ask after how to make it?”

“Oh, yes, of course. You would let my sister as hostess know that you enjoyed it, and ask if her cook would be willing to share the recipe. If the cook is willing, as you know some recipes are guarded like national secrets, our cook will send it along to yours.”

The other woman frowned somewhat. “I will never see it, then?”

“Likely not, unless you ask after seeing it. Which you are certainly permitted to do once the recipe arrives at your home,” Juniper reassured her hastily. “Though no one will ever expect you to cook it yourself, of course, or to know all the details about how it is made.”

“My sister-in-law is a most excellent cook,” Lady Emily said. “I can attest to her skills in the kitchen. It seems a shame that ladies do not cook if they wish to do so.”

“Some ladies likely do,” Juniper said, glancing briefly at Mr. Sterling again. Egad . She needed to call him something other than the surname he shared with his whole family. John Sterling. Jack? No, that felt far too familiar, even in her own mind. “Though I admit I have never heard a lady attest to such a thing in company.”

Betony returned to the table, holding a large, thick paper. “ Lady Emily, you wished to see my sister’s likeness of your brother, did you not? I thought I had best show you when he rejoined us, the better to see how well Juniper executed the task with her watercolors.”

Juniper’s face immediately flooded with heat, and she stood hastily. “Oh, Betony, you should not?—”

Betony’s smile was full of mischief, not malice, as she turned the thick art paper around to show the watercolor painting to both its subject and his female relatives at the table. Juniper winced and turned her attention to Mr. Sterling…whose cheeks looked fine, but the tops of his ears were now somewhat red.

She swallowed an apology, then stumbled over a hasty explanation. “It is only a watercolor, done somewhat hastily so as not to bother Mr. Sterling or take him from what his duties were at the time?—”

Lady Emily took the paper in her hands as she stood between her brother and sister-in-law, and studied it closely. “Oh, but the details are marvelous. You captured his chin perfectly. The look of his eyes, too. Who is he meant to be, with the sword and shield?”

The man’s eyebrows were drawn together again as he looked at the paper, and Juniper realized he had never seen the final work. Why had she not showed it to him?

She cleared her throat. “A medieval soldier. Wearing leather armor, rather than metal.” If her cheeks would cool and her heart would calm, she might find a way to make light of exactly how much time she had spent getting the details of his face and hair exactly right. She may have spent a little too much time studying him after the initial painting was done.

“I think it is one of Juniper’s better pieces,” Betony said, the pride in her voice unmistakable. “My own rendering was so wholly unremarkable that I did not even bother to pay attention to where I had laid it down. ”

“Oh, we must show Mama,” Lady Emily said, looking up at her brother. “It is a lovely painting of you. She will admire it.”

Mr. Sterling finally looked up at Juniper, one corner of his mouth pulling upward. “Indeed. I think Mother will enjoy it. Lady Juniper has done a fair job of making me look far more interesting than I really am.”

His sister-in-law scoffed. “All of the Sterling men are quite handsome, you cannot help but look interesting.” She rose from the table. “I will come with you, Emily. Perhaps we can talk your other brothers into having their likenesses painted—though we will spare Lady Juniper the trouble of putting up with their company by finding another artist.”

Juniper looked up at Mr. Sterling as they walked away, Betony with them. “I…I am terribly sorry. I did not know my sister retrieved the painting, nor that she intended to show it to the whole gathering.”

The furrow disappeared from his brow, and he tipped his head toward her as he spoke. “It is of no matter, Lady Juniper. Your talent overrides the poor subject you worked with to create the painting.”

Oh. He thought her talented? Her cheeks felt warmer than before, somehow.

“Jack,” his eldest brother said loudly. “I didn’t know you went to battle with sword and shield.”

The jest made Mr. Sterling sigh. “Excuse me, please.” He nodded to her, then joined his family members studying the painting.

Teague wandered to the table where Juniper stood, frozen in place by mortification and compliment alike. Her brother-in-law folded his hands behind him. “Shouldn’t the artist be with her painting, to explain the thoughts behind her work?”

She shook her head, watching as the earl held the painting and looked from it to his son, then said something in a low voice which made everyone laugh .

“I think this is less about the painting and more about a family teasing one another,” she said quietly. “I cannot understand why Betony had to fetch it.”

“I think it was wise of her.” Teague grinned when she turned a frown in his direction. “Truly. They have been doing their best all evening to behave properly. There has been an unnatural stiffness to every word, look, and motion. But now see, they are more relaxed. I think, too, it gives them yet another link to our family through your familiarity with one they love, as innocent as it may be.”

Juniper looked up at her brother-in-law who was one of the cleverest and kindest men she knew. “You really do want to help them.”

“Of course I do.” He winked at her. “I could use more English allies, for one thing. I find I like them a great deal, for another.” He offered her his arm. “Now come. You must at least accept his mother’s compliments, as I am certain she wishes to give them and hasn’t worked out how to approach you yet.”

“Oh, very well.” She let him escort her over to the crowd, where most of the teasing had ended.

Lady Benwaith did have quite a few kind words to say. All in all, the evening seemed a successful introduction of their two households—and though Juniper caught herself glancing at John Sterling throughout the evening, he said nothing more to her about the painting. Or anything else, for that matter. It was not the stirring success she had hoped for upon their reintroduction, but nor was it a complete disaster.

Perhaps she ought to reconsider her approach to coming to know him better.