Free Laurie's Painter (sweet Regency romance) by Alice M. Roelke

Laurie—Mr. Joysey—came to visit, she felt a
smile bloom inside her; she felt like a beautiful woman for the rest of the
day. His presence was like a magic balm, chasing away all the fear and
humiliation of the years. When he was there, she could not even worry about her
brother's health, because nothing truly bad could ever happen with Laurence
Joysey nearby.
    And if this was a bit too
close to falling in love, she deliberately pushed the thought away from her
mind and told herself she could deal with whatever feelings got past her guard,
after Laurie was no longer their friend.
    After the portraits were
done, he would no doubt wish nothing to do with them any longer.
    But, before that happened
there was the hamper to finish, Laurie's visits to look forward to, and a trip
to his country estate in the spring. And that was surely payment enough for a young
lady's dreams.
    ~*~
    When her brother got home,
Jenny greeted him with a smile and brushed a stray hair from her cheek. He
smiled at her, looking tired but reluctantly pleased. "You'll have to wash
your face. You've paint on it."
    Jenny made a childish face
at him, but rose and went to wash. The strong smells of turpentine and paint
blended in a slightly overpowering aroma, but one that was still pleasant to
her nose—more pleasant than the sooty coal fire burning in the grate. They
needed the chimney cleaned, but she found herself reluctant to push the matter
with money already tight. Certainly Laurie's basket had helped with the food
costs, but there were still the debts to be considered, as that letter from the
bank proved.
    From the other room, her
brother uttered a stifled oath. She carried a towel with her, wiping her
still-wet hands on it, and hurried toward him, her brow wrinkled with concern. Both
her speedy walk and brow-wrinkling Mother would have called unladylike, but
Jenny couldn't be bothered about such things when there were more important
concerns. Such as her brother getting overwhelmed by their debt.
    Goodness knows, it hung
heavily enough over both their heads, but the last thing he needed was a jolt
of surprise—especially when they were finally getting somewhere, with the
excellent job from Joysey lined up. It would, if she and Laurie could play
their cards right, double as a holiday for Henry, which he so needed: a time to
rest, to get fresh air, peace, and quiet.
    "What is it?"
asked Jenny, watching him with large-eyed concern.
    Henry stood in the middle
of the room, just past the small table where he must have found the letter from
the bank. A slight and sickly young man with a backbone of iron, he still wore
the greatcoat that seemed to swallow him whole these days. He often seemed to
stand erect only from his effort of will. Now he stood stiffly, blinking
rapidly. He glanced at her from the letter.
    "It seems an error
has been made. About the money we owe."
    "Oh no." Jenny
felt all the strength go out of her. This—on top of everything? She dropped
into a creaky wooden chair and regarded him bleakly. They'd worked so hard
lately! "How bad is it?"
    "That's what I don't
understand. They're saying the error was made to our detriment. Father owes far
less than we were informed!"
    They stared at one another
as this sank in. Then Henry went back to the bank letter, scanning the lines
over and over again. "I don't understand," he repeated. "If this
is true, we're nearly in the clear."
    "You mean you slaved
all those years, with hardly any hope of ever paying everything off, all because
bankers somewhere made an error of kingly proportion?" Jenny gripped the
arms of her chair hard, well and truly furious. "I can't believe that
such—such ignorance and folly are allowed to exist in the world!"
    In spite of everything, he
sent her an amused, sarcastic look. "Well, sister, if you've not learnt to
live in the real world yet, surely there's nothing I can do to change your
mind! But do admit an error in this way is better for us than one in the