sketchbook and turned over pages until she found one empty. She went to work immediately, capturing the gentle curve in the tall green stalk. A butterfly that looked rather like a leaf fluttered by, landing on one of the flowers.
Lord James busied himself with his chalk and the cobblestones. When she glanced over once, after he had been quiet for a time, she saw he was putting faces on individual stones. Some were quite hideous, others amusing. Alice hid her smile behind her sketch and went back to her own drawing.
Periodically, Alice checked the watch she wore. It had been a gift from the same great-aunt who found her the position of governess for the duke’s children. Though the watch might have looked lovely on a chain or chatelaine, it was far more practical to keep it on a ribbon Alice could slip between the pages of a book or into a reticule.
A quarter of an hour remained until they must leave for Lord James to attend his art lesson when the willow branches stirred, and Mr. Gardiner came into view. He wore a broad-brimmed hat more suitable to a fisherman than a gentleman, had a large basket tucked under one arm, along with a long-poled-net, and in his other arm he had books and a small box.
His gaze were so fixed on the sunken fountain that he did not even notice Alice and the little boy right away.
It was Lord James that called his attention to them with a gleeful shout. “Mr. Gardiner! Are you catching dragonflies again today?”
Mr. Gardiner started, then focused on the little boy. His gaze rose to sweep the surrounding area, and he spotted Alice on the bench. For no accountable reason, save residual embarrassment from the night before, Alice’s cheeks grew warm.
Too much sun, she told herself.
She rose from her place on the bench, gripping the sides of her sketchbook.
“Not dragonflies today.” He came further in, then bent over to carefully deposit his armload of supplies on the clover near the fountain. “I am releasing some specimens, then drawing the flowers.”
“Oh.” The boy’s interest immediately dissipated. He crouched lower to the ground and went back to his chalk drawing.
Mr. Gardiner directed his stare at Alice again. “Miss Sharpe, it is good to see you again.”
She curtsied. “Mr. Gardiner. I hope you’re well today.”
“Perfectly.” He approached her while wearing an amiable expression. “You left too quickly after dinner. I regretted your absence. I hope I did not drive you away.”
Had he really missed her? Even if not, he showed more thoughtfulness than most of her acquaintances by saying so. “Of course not, Mr. Gardiner. My duties as governess require an early start, which in turn requires an early evening retirement.” She did not have to say that governesses were generally unwanted creatures when it came to evening entertainments.
“That makes sense. I prefer to be up with the sun. Insects are far busier during the cooler hours. I imagine they dislike heat as much as the rest of us.” His eyes sparkled at her, alluding to their conversation from the day before. He gestured to her sketchbook, still all politeness. “Are you drawing the fountain scene? It is a bit of genius work, is it not? The dowager duchess designed this garden, I believe.”
Alice pulled her sketchbook a little closer. Would he think her foolish if he saw? Perhaps not, as he apparently spent hours and hours observing insects. “Not the garden in its entirety. Merely the flowers.” There, they had both done enough to be considered polite by Society’s standards. He would withdraw to his own business.
Except, if anything, he appeared more interested than before. “Your interest in flowers extends beyond glancing at their pictures in publications?”
A laugh escaped her lips, though it was somewhat rueful. “I believe most ladies sketch flowers from time to time, Mr. Gardiner. Society rather demands that we are schooled in sketching things that are reminders of feminine beauty.”
“I suppose that is true, but I find most give up realistic depictions in favor of the more artistic.” He sighed and scratched behind his ear, his gaze going back to the pond. His next inquiry was merely polite, instead of curious, which gave her leave to relax. “Which flower has captured your interest?”
Stretching the book out to him, Alice attempted to sound unruffled. “You may look if you like.”
He came closer to accept the book and flipped open the soft red cover. Then he looked from the sketch of the purple-loosestrife