Mr. Gardiner and the Governess - Sally Britton Page 0,23

your colorist.” She bent to put her basket down, then opened her book and took a pencil from inside it. “If you will tell me what you require, I will make note of it before we begin.”

Although he normally admired individuals who came straight to the point, as he much preferred to do the same, her manner bordered on brusque. Obviously, the woman still bore contempt for either his person or the project at hand.

Her gaze darted up from the page to his arms, then up to his eyes, before she dropped them again to the book.

Had his lack of coat offended her?

Although it would be an easy matter to slip the heavy cloth on again, Rupert did not move to find it. If they were to spend time together, she would have to accustom herself to how he went about his work.

“What I require, Miss Sharpe, is a meeting of the minds.” Rupert had the satisfaction of seeing her eyebrows lift, her eyes coming up to his filled with skepticism. “And while I have apologized multiple times for giving offense, it is obvious you still harbor some ill feeling toward me. If that is the case, I fail to understand why you are standing here at all.”

As he spoke, her eyes narrowed to slits and her chin lifted. “I am standing here, sir, because my employer expects it. Or do you think one as insignificant as I am can ignore the preferences of a duke?” The sharpness in her tone surprised him. As did her perspective of the situation.

“You truly have no wish to be a part of a scientific study?” Rupert dropped his arms to his side. “But you seemed so interested—and you have a natural talent—”

“Thank you.” She sighed and wrapped both hands around her book. “But the flattery is unnecessary. I am afraid I cannot spare more than an hour, then I must attend to the children again. Will you please tell me, sir, what it is you need me to do?”

Although uncertain as to why she was still upset, Rupert bent to retrieve his book from the ground. “As I said before, the process of preparing this catalog for the duke is more arduous and time consuming than I expected. I can render an insect in near perfect detail, and the coloration of the creatures is important to me. The flowers and plants where they make their bowers or their dinners are no less important. They need to be rendered in excellent detail.”

He flipped open his sketchbook and took a loose sheet of paper out, showing it to her. “Here is the plant from the pond where we met, the same one you were drawing.”

She looked from his picture up to him. “Yes. Your drawing and mine show similar skill.”

“But I haven’t the time to color it in while I am also working on producing the seven different insects I found living upon the loosestrife.” He stared hard at her, trying to convey his need through his stare alone. “I will draw everything, Miss Sharpe, and deliver the flowers to you. If you would lend me your talent of making them look real, with vivid and accurate color, I will forever be in your debt. The duke intends to publish what I am compiling into a book for himself, but we will also submit it for scientific publication.”

“Then what does it matter if my colors are correct?” she asked, arching her blonde eyebrows at him, one corner of her mouth pulling aside skeptically. “The publishing houses will have their own colorists—”

“And those colorists must copy from an original. Your work will be the original colors.” How could he help her understand how important it was to him? “Please, Miss Sharpe. Accuracy is of great importance, to His Grace and to me.”

She studied his drawing again, almost reluctantly. “What about the insects?”

Perhaps she was more bothered by multi-legged, miniscule creatures than he had thought. “I will color them in.”

“Very well.” She handed the drawing back to him, then scribbled in her book with her pencil. He assumed she wrote his instructions, but then she tore out the paper and handed it to him. “This is what I will need to ensure accuracy. If you will note where in the garden the flower is located, I can obtain a sample to work from. I have also written the hours I will be available to you. You may either send the drawings to me or I will collect