Page 28 (1/2)

"Aye, it’s thistle " Ewen gave Rowena a dark look that one too far this tiift froift from me to Lily "

The admission silenced everyone at the table but for Rowena, whose audible breathing attested to her efforts atcontrol at the laird’s affront By the scowl on Rowena’s face, it was clear that she perceived this as an insult And Lily knew then and there that she would be the one ould suffer for it

Ewen rose from his chair and stood behind Lily to unclasp the necklace The touch of his hands on her neck in such an intiht-headed She was thankful that Ewen placed the thistle on the table for her, as she was certain she would be unable to stand on her own Lily knew the gift was er She didn’t knohat Ewen ’s relationship with his parents had been, but it was clear that Rowena had crossed a line to make him invoke their memory

Or perhaps he meant to make Rowena jealous Lily was unclear what the woh if Rowena’s relationship with John was any indication, perhaps Eas grooh the laird had pronounced he ’d never , her nasty teardless, she did not want to dwell on the fact that Ewen had staked the necklace and Lily would be forced to do whatever it took not to lose it

"O di iloohtful divertissement! " Lily hadn ’t noticed Robert’s return "Archie my man, please retrieve another bottle of the laird ’s splendid Bordeaux whilst I peruse these fine iteh of relief as he passed over the necklace He paused for a moment then, with a twinkle in his eye, swept his hand back and snatched the thistle up froia has seized aive Robert fresh resolve

"And I dare say I know the porcelain neck upon which glittered this fine treasure " Robert turned to face Lily "We have in our il instructed in his Aeneid ‘, Inventas vitah science and art! Lily, would you please ennoble our h your pictorial arts and bless us with …with a sketch of our very own laird! "

Lily could have died on the spot Ewen didn’t seem any more pleased with the situation than she did The rest of the table, though, erupted into pleased exclamations of how lucky they were to be in the company of an artist, and how stylish it was these days for women to sketch and paint, and wherever did she learn such a craft

"I’ve already taken the liberty of having Kat fetch your pencils and paper from John ’s rooms " Robert promptly presented her with her supplies

Lily sat frozen, feeling mortified at the prospect of such a public test of her skills

Ewen sensed her dislass of wine,of this will help "

His sensitivity only made her feel all the more uncomfortable She was uncertain, whichforced to sketch--tipsy no less--in front of a group of strangers, or having to stare unabashedly at Ewen for as long as it would take her to study and record his features on paper

"Just do as good as you can, Lil’ ", Ehispered in his ht bonny little picture "

Lily’s anxiety turned to anger at his last statement How dare he patronize her? She was a talented artist, not so female who dabbled in pretty pictures of flowers and horses She suddenly felt she was up for the challenge

Taking a sip of her wine, she looked Ewen directly in the eyes "Sit still, Ewen " The use of his naave Lily a burst of confidence She would show hi to a tree! "

"Or the frost on Ben Nevis " Rowena hissed under her breath Her coht it

"Ah, but who is the lightning and who the tree?" Robert speculated

Ewen bristled, and Lily i to after the guests departed The laird’s public gift to Lily, though, gave the table free rein to discuss the two of them as if some sort of relationship existed

This time it was Lily who cut the charade short "Please I need silence to work "