Page 69 of Aurelia

“I thought I might, but”—he turned to look around and then gave them a rueful look. “It appears there is nowhere to sit.”

“We have two unoccupied seats,” Aurelia said. “Why not join us?”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to—”

“Please do,” Larissa seconded.

Once Sir Gideon had taken a seat and ordered tea and a scone from the waitress he turned to Aurelia. “Oh, by the by, Miss Burton. I have had your sketch framed. I do hope you will visit me the next time you are in Balcrewe so you can see it.”

“Sketch?” Larissa asked.

“Miss Burton made a most excellent sketch of Balcrewe and it just so happens to have me in it.”

Aurelia laughed. “It was a sketch of you, Sir Gideon, and the background sneaked in.”

He grinned, well pleased.

“I would love to see your work,” Larissa said. “I cannot believe I have not asked before!”

“We usually enjoy ourselves too much chatting to look at paintings,” Aurelia said.

“You can show her now,” Sir Gideon said, glancing significantly at her satchel, which hung from the chairback. “And me, too,” he added with a hopeful look.

Aurelia chuckled. “I might have a few sketches to share.”

She pulled out the book and flipped through until she came to her most recent drawings and then moved aside her cup and plate to make a space on the table.

Larissa gasped at the drawing. “What in the world is that?”

Aurelia smiled at their shocked faces. “It is called an alligator. The specimen I used for this sketch is actually quite small at a little over three feet. Mr. Montgomery said they saw animals as long as fifteen feet.”

“Fifteen feet!” Larissa murmured. “It looks like something out of a nightmare.”

“Are they aquatic?” Sir Gideon asked.

“That is their preferred environment, but they can also live on land.”

Several people who’d come in to buy pastries or bread to take home were lured over to their table by all the oohing and ahhing.

“Look at those teeth!” one of the men exclaimed, a farmer by the look of his clothing. “How big are they?”

Aurelia opened her mouth.

“Some of the longest teeth are as big as three inches.”

All heads swiveled around at the sound of the Earl of Crewe’s voice.

He smiled at the small assemblage and pulled out his watch and held it up. One of the fobs was a yellowish fang which he removed from the chain and gave to the farmer to inspect. “This one came from a large male one of our hunters brought back for dinner one evening.”

The shop erupted at that information, and the reactions were quite comical.

The young waitress—Betsy, who could not have been more than fourteen—made a gagging sound. “You et it, me lord?”

The earl laughed. “Indeed we did, and we were grateful to have it.”

“What did it taste like?” The farmer who was inspecting the tooth asked.

“A great deal like fish, but the texture is a bit chewier.” He met Aurelia’s gaze, his own unreadable. “Perhaps we should have an exhibit here on the island once I’ve received the first prints back from the publisher.”