Page 66 of Aurelia

“You have goose pimples, Miss Burton.” Captain Walker gestured to Celsa, who now had a horse comb and was grooming her dog under Silas’s supervision. “I believe she will be busy for a while. May I walk you back to the house?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I am taking Miss Burton back inside, Little One,” he called out.

Celsa nodded absently, not pulling her gaze away from her new pet.

“Do you always return home in between your journeys?” she asked as they strolled toward the castle.

“I try to. I am my mother’s only child and she likes to see me and assure herself that I am well.”

“How long have you been a sea captain?”

“Only two years, and four-and-twenty is still extremely young for that. I am fortunate that my father supported my interests from the beginning. Rather than insist I remain in school, he found me a position when I was fifteen. I think he believed the harsh requirements of such a life would have me running home within a year, but instead I took to the sea just like a fish.”

“And you have worked your way up to captain.”

“Aye, with my father’s help in that, too,” he admitted with a rueful smile. “I could not have afforded my own ship for many years, if ever, on my wages. The earl funded the purchase of my vessel. In exchange, I engage in work for him when he needs me.” He opened the massive door to the foyer. “What about you, Miss Burton? Have you always known you wanted to paint and draw?” he asked as they ascended the main staircase.

“I’ve always liked art, but I didn’t realize I could earn my living from it until a man who was collecting butterflies came to spend some time in our village. He saw me sketching and was impressed by my work. It was he who told me that a person might make money if they were good enough.”

They paused on the landing and Aurelia turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for walking me back. I am going to fetch a wrap and then go look at the items you brought his lordship.”

“I will accompany you, if you do not mind?”

“Not at all.”

“I will wait here while you fetch a wrap. Perhaps you could show me some of the work that you’ve done for my father, if you have time?”

“I would be happy to,” she said, more than a little flattered by his attention. He was exceptionally handsome and charming, his demeanor that of a well-bred gentleman. At twenty-four he was only a year younger than Aurelia.

And his eyes shone with regard for her, which he did nothing to hide.

It occurred to her that this was precisely the sort of man she would have liked to marry.

If she hadn’t already been infatuated with his father.

Chapter 14

Roland heard masculine and feminine laughter even before he opened the door to the workroom. Guustin and Miss Burton—the source of the laughter—were so involved with each other that they did not notice his entrance.

The stab of irritation he experienced felt suspiciously like jealousy as he looked at his son’s golden head bent near Miss Burton’s tawny brown one.

The emotion was so foreign that he paused to examine it. It had been a long time since he’d felt such possessive intent toward anyone. In fact, had he ever truly felt that way?

Frustration, jealousy, and pique swirled inside him and he struggled with the impulse to grab Guustin by the scruff of the neck and drag him not only from the room, but from the castle. Perhaps even the island.

Wisely, he did no such thing. Not only because he loved his son and enjoyed a fulfilling relationship with him, but because the lad—at almost twenty-five—was nearly as big as Roland and it was doubtful he would be the victor in such a scuffle. At least not without some effort.

Instead of behaving like a fool, Roland noisily cleared his throat.

Both their heads whipped up in a comically identical fashion. But while the actions were the same, the expressions on the faces were not. His son, not unsurprisingly, looked wryly amused at being interrupted during his flirtation.

Miss Burton looked guilty and flushed, the color on her pale cheeks making her hazel eyes appear greener than brown in the brightly illuminated room.

“Something among the samples is enough to provoke laughter?” he asked, pleased that his irritation didn’t come across in the question.

Miss Burton cleared her throat. “Er, not as such, my lord. It’s just—”