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She was all but relieved when Mrs. Edlund announced that they were through for the day. Anxious to see how Kitty was faring, she made her way to her bedchamber next. It was empty when she arrived. She was about to leave when a curious sight had her retracing her steps.
There was an inordinate number of crumpled papers lying by Kitty's watercolor supplies. Edwina bent and picked up one of them. She straightened the paper to the sight of an unfinished sketch of a man. The second one she picked up was a similar unfinished sketch.
Something sticking out of the supplies box caught her attention and when she pulled the paper out, she gasped. It was a full watercolor of… Steven Winfield? It was a very accurate representation of him; a most impressive one, too.
Kitty had always been good with watercolors, but all she ever painted were flowers and landscapes. Edwina never knew that her skills were so advanced that she could paint a portrait.
"My goodness." Edwina gasped again as realization dawned on her. Could Steven be the man Kitty had fallen for? The man responsible for her misery over the past days?
"What are you doing?" Kitty's voice sounded behind her. "You should not be looking at that.” She came to snatch the painting from Edwina's hands, replacing it in the box, and blushing profusely.
"Kitty, you can talk to me." Edwina took her hand.
"I am embarrassed." Her voice was thick with emotion.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Edwina asked. She wanted to calm her down before convincing her to tell her what had been happening.
"Do I have a choice?" Kitty asked with a shrug. “You are going to drag me out, anyway. I can see the look in your eyes.”
"Precisely!" Edwina looped her arm through Kitty’s. They walked in silence until they arrived at Glass Blanket. “Would you like to swim?”
“It is rather cold, Edwina," Kitty said as Edwina began gathering her skirts.
"Oh, we won't go all the way in. Just a little soak to the knees will do," she replied, smiling.
Kitty looked somewhat reluctant, but she humored her, nonetheless. "I think I know why you like this place," she said as she followed Edwina into the water. "Everything about it feels peaceful."
"See? You are already liking it.”
"So?" Kitty prompted. "You obviously did not bring me all the way here to admire the lake. Although with the way you love it, I would not be surprised."
"You are right, I did not," Edwina said before asking, "Have you shown it to him? The painting, I mean."
"What? So he could run even farther away?" Kitty cried. "It is not as impressive as you think."
"Kitty, I never saw anything more impressive, and I am not saying this because you are my friend."
"Why did it have to be him? Of all men, Edwina? I have tried to run from it," Kitty grumbled.
"I told you, the heart is a treacherous little thing, Kitty," Edwina replied. "I tried running away, too. Believe me, the harder you try, the more you find yourself coming back. It might be worth it in the end, though."
"I am glad you found someone who equally adores you, Edwina." Kitty smiled.
Edwina was uncertain if Albert adored her. She was very certain he worshipped her body, though. "Don't give me hope, Kitty. Please," she implored.
"I am not. It is an obvious thing, and everyone can see except you two dunderheads. I honestly wonder where your heads are.”
"Steven cares about you, too, Kitty," Edwina said, recalling the look in his eyes when he had asked after Kitty at Tommen's wedding breakfast. There had been something in his gaze that she was only now understanding.
"He is a coward," Kitty said. “If he could decide what he truly wants, then I would not think he is the worst of men.”
"Perhaps," Edwina agreed. "You seem to know him more than I do, but—”
"He does not know what he wants," Kitty repeated, her tone somewhat angry. "One moment he is begging me to stay, and the next, I am an utter stranger to him. He is a rake, too."
"Very well," Edwina said, realizing that her friend was finally letting out some of the anger and uncertainty she had been keeping in for days. “What rakish thing has he done?”
Kitty shrugged. “He had not done anything rakish, nothing I know of, but he has the reputation.”
