Lord Stanton's Last Mistress by Lara Temple

Author:Lara Temple [Temple, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-03-13T11:57:09+00:00

Chapter Ten

Christina entered the portrait gallery a few steps behind the others. The King and the foreign envoys were in a buoyant mood after putting the final flourishes on the negotiations, like children being let loose from the schoolroom. For them the formal signing of the treaty the previous day marked the end of two weeks of tense discussions. For Christina, it marked the end of one of the most bittersweet periods of her life.

Well, not quite the end. The King had announced they would depart on the morrow to visit his old school in Oxford for a few days, accompanied by Lady Albinia, and then return briefly to Stanton on their way to the royal frigate awaiting in Southampton to return them to Illiakos. Still, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. She didn’t know whether to be grateful that Alex had behaved with perfect propriety towards her ever since their discussion in the state room. He treated her as he did Ari—like a favoured cousin to be indulged and amused but put aside when matters of greater import caught his attention. All her years of keeping her thoughts wrapped and sealed helped her respond in kind but with each passing day the effort it took to maintain her façade grew, as did the internal howl of protest. What would happen if she stamped her feet and said she didn’t want to leave? Not yet. Not ever.

She forced her attention to the gallery. It was very long, one wall punctuated by a series of tall, arched and mullioned windows leading out to the lawn, the other covered with dozens of paintings in elaborate frames which glowed in the light streaming in from the long windows. There was a conceit to it, but there was still something rather comfortable about the room; perhaps it was the warmth of the wood and the lack of embellishments other than a few delicate chairs placed between the paintings or by the windows.

She followed at the tail of the group as Lady Albinia introduced some of the players on the walls, passing by others without a word. With her vague but humorous touch they took on lives and wove together into a very English tale that held her audience rapt. Amongst the multitude of portraits she did not always choose those with the greatest artistic merit, but when she passed by an exquisitely rendered portrait of a haughty young woman without stopping Christina was so surprised she paused beneath it as the others continued in Lady Albinia’s wake.

The painting itself was wonderful. The attention to detail was so superb it was unnoticeable, but the real brilliance was that unlike most of the other paintings Christina could truly feel the person. Not that it was a comfortable feeling. The woman...the girl...was probably younger than Ari and exquisitely beautiful with eyes remarkably like Lord Stanton’s. She also seemed to be blazing with feeling though her face was a mask. The painter had captured not only

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