Free The Master & the Muses by Amanda McIntyre Page B

pass.”
    He studied me and then slapped his knee. “You need the fresh air and sunshine of the country.”
    He smiled up at me, his eyes twinkling. I thought that hemeant we should visit my family at last, and now, faced with the reality of it, I wasn’t sure if I was ready just yet. “Oh, I could not face my family today, Thomas. Perhaps next week when I’m better rested.”
    He nodded. “Very well, we won’t go to see your family, as you wish. We’ll take a ride. I know! We’ll have a picnic! It’s a lovely day for it. We need to get some color in your face.”
    He pulled me to my feet.
    â€œGo change and meet me out front.”
    Although I considered asking whether I might instead lie down for a while, I knew that once Thomas made up his mind he was not easily deterred.
    The carriage ride was indeed relaxing. We spoke little, enjoying the view, silent in our private thoughts. Once or twice I caught Thomas looking at me and we would share a friendly smile. Since our conversation on the balcony, he’d not made any further advances. I often wondered, knowing the healthiness of his sexual appetite, how he was satisfying his cravings.
    Thomas tapped the driver with his cane and we came to a stop by a small grove of willow and oak trees.
    â€œYou’re welcome to go up to the house, good man. You’ll find a well there to water your horses. I’ll fetch you when we’re ready.”
    He grabbed a small basket and stepped down, holding his hand out to me. “Come on, I want to show you the grounds.”
    â€œWill the owners mind us traipsing around the property?” I asked, noting a small cottage in the distance.
    â€œIt belongs to the brotherhood.” He offered his hand to help me down.
    Thomas continued to hold my hand, guiding me through the knee-length grass. Overhead, the sun shone in a brilliant blue sky. I breathed deeply. The setting was beautiful and it reminded me of the places I had played as a child. “The brotherhood? What would the brotherhood need with all of this land?” I asked, ducking beneath the low-hanging branches of the willow trees as best I could. One snagged my bonnet, pulling it away from my head.
    Thomas laughed and reached up, loosening my coppery hair and causing it to spill over my shoulders. He stopped, holding my hat in his hand, and fingered my hair. “Breathtaking,” he said, taking a strand and brushing it over his cheek. “You have a natural beauty that few women can boast of, Helen. You should embrace it with great confidence.”
    We sat beneath a willow, lunching on fresh peaches and cheese, bread and wine. He tore a loaf of bread and offered me a taste.
    â€œWe’ve talked about building a communal studio.” He stood and shook off his coat.
    â€œWhat?” I asked, swallowing the bread without properly chewing it. I washed it down with a large gulp of wine. “Why would you want to leave the studio? Would you all live here together?”
    Thomas stretched out on his side, crossing his long legs, and propped himself up on his elbow. “It’s the perfect solution, really. Sharing props, easels, paints—”
    â€œModels?” I asked, feeling a tinge of jealousy.
    He leveled his gaze on me. “That has always been the way of it. From the formation of the brotherhood—we share and share alike.”
    â€œI do not think I like the idea, Thomas.” I tipped back my glass and finished off the wine. I sensed it warring with my medicine, causing my tongue to loosen.
    â€œBecause you are uncomfortable around the brotherhood?” he asked quietly.
    â€œI don’t think they like me, Thomas. I hear their whispers when I don’t laugh at their lewd jokes.”
    â€œLewd? Why, Helen, I never took you for a stick-in-the-mud.”
    I paused from filling my cup, my ire rankled. “I am no such thing, I assure you. I simply prefer different