Color of Deception

by Ruth J. Hartman

  Chapter Eighteen

  The drone of people’s voices swam around Kitty as she impatiently waited for someone, anyone, to buy one of her panoramas. She knew she and her sisters did admirable work. Hadn’t they been told that time and again? Going against her cousin’s rules, she had stepped out a little onto the path that wound between the artisan’s booths. Who cared if Robert found out and got angry? If Kitty didn’t do something to make money, and quickly, she might just find herself without a home.

  At least she’d been honest when Robert had questioned her about Stratford. Yes, she had been nice to him. Yes, she had flirted. And to her mortification, the man had snuck in a kiss when she wasn’t expecting it. She’d been livid but had done her best not to let it show in her expression. At least for the present, she needed to make sure Stratford said nothing against her to his father.

  I need to keep this position.

  Though she had talked Lydia into going with her to keep Nathaniel company while she was pleasant to Stratford, Kitty would not be alone with him again. She’d consent to an outing only if her great-aunt, Lydia, or Patience were in company. And she wouldn’t go off with him by herself in the future.

  Poor Lydia had apologized over and over, because she’d given in and taken Nathaniel back to the stream. Apparently, they’d approached right as Stratford grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers. When Kitty had heard a shuffle of boots and had seen her sister and Nathaniel, him with an expression of sadness mixed with disbelief, a piece of her heart had chipped away. After witnessing what he had, surely Nathaniel would lose any interest he might have had for her. Not that she could blame him.

  A part of her wanted the employment to end soon so she could give up the ruse of any interest in Stratford. But when that day came, would she ever have an opportunity to spend time with Nathaniel again?

  Chances were exceptionally good that she would not.

  With a sigh, she looked to her left, perusing the people strolling past. A group of three women was followed a few feet behind by a young man and a strikingly lovely brunette. Kitty forced a smile she didn’t feel, hoping to entice someone to at least step closer and view her work. Perhaps then she—

  “Pardon me.”

  Kitty jumped and pivoted to her right. An older, well-dressed gentleman with thick white hair stood before her, a pleasant expression on his face.

  “I’d like to see your work, if you please.” He glanced at the unrolled panoramas on the counter behind her.

  “Certainly.” She edged closer to them and picked up the one nearest to her. It was a scene of a stylish young couple descending from a carriage pulled by two black horses with shiny coats and a majestic white house in the background. She had so enjoyed painting the equines. “This one is quite nice.”

  He leaned forward and placed spectacles on his nose, still squinting at the image. “No. Not that one, I’m afraid.”

  She blinked. To each his own. “I have several others if you would care to see them. My sisters and I paint a large variety of subjects.”

  His thick eyebrows lowered. “Yes. Show them all to me.”

  Kitty bit her lip. He had acted friendly when he’d first arrived but now appeared to be agitated. His foot tapped against the floor, and his hand fidgeted at his side. “Of course.” She reached for one of a jester performing at Astley’s Amphitheatre. “How about—”

  He took a brief glance, shook his head. “No. What else?”

  The man had barely given it his attention. Why was he being difficult? He’d seemed so interested in seeing her paintings. If he didn’t care for her style of work, why did he want to even look at any more of them? Surely a person would assume that an artist’s way of painting would remain consistent from one subject to the next?

  “Here’s another.” She unrolled one she had just finished the night before of The Tower of London and held it out to him.

  He practically snatched it from her hand. As he studied it, taking his time, he even ran a finger tediously over the image, as if wanting to memorize the whole panorama. Then his pleasant countenance returned as he peered at her. “This one.”

  Finally, a sale! She could practically hear her cousin chuckle in delight at her earning some money for him. “Very good choice, sir. Is it to be a gift? I can wrap it for you in a lovely—”

  “No, no. I’ll take it as is.” He reached for his small purse.

  She told him the amount, delighted that he’d not squawked about the price. Some tried to barter with her, but she rarely gave in unless it would be her only sale of the day. Robert was very much against taking less money than the price he had set. There were times Kitty wished she could accept less for her work. Not that she wanted to, but wasn’t a smaller amount preferable to earning nothing? “Thank you, sir. Good day and—”

  “Good day,” he said in a clipped tone. With that brief sentiment, the man turned abruptly and hurried toward the building’s entrance like he had a previous appointment he’d forgotten about until that instant.

  Kitty shook her head slowly. What a strange encounter. She glanced down at the money in her hand. But she’d made a sale. Surely that was worth putting up with odd characters. And he’d been mostly pleasant except when he grabbed the last panorama from her. One could endure a little rudeness if it ended in the desired result.

  It wasn’t until she’d stashed the coins in her reticule that she realized the panorama the man had chosen was one that Robert had instructed her to add in the triangle shape. Had the man noticed it? He’d studied it quite thoroughly. She shook her head. Surely not. Why would he? They hid the symbols well, and people rarely saw them unless they were told what to look for. Even then, some never did find the miniscule items they inserted.

  Except for Nathaniel. He’d found the letter S right off, without even knowing there was something he was supposed to hunt for. Her body warmed at the memory of sitting so close to him at the racecourse. The corners of Kitty’s lips lifted. She couldn’t help it. Anything to do with him made her feel lighter, happier, more alive than she’d ever felt before.

  But blast it all… Why couldn’t she remember he was a rake? Her mind pushed that part of him away so she could concentrate on his goodness. Sweetness. Kind nature. His combination of rakish behavior coupled with that of a sweet gentleman fascinated as well as perplexed her.

  Best to try not to think of him at all. Nothing would ever come of it in any case.

  Easier said than done, unfortunately.

  She tapped her boot on the floor as she watched Patience speaking to an older woman at the next booth. Had her sister sold a panorama with the triangle as well? The three sisters had tried in vain to figure out why Robert wanted it added, and only to certain paintings. There didn’t seem to be a reason. At least not a sane one.

  But Robert didn’t always act as though he was in control of his senses.

  Lydia was on the other end of the arcade with their great-aunt, who was probably already napping in some corner but they were too far away for Kitty to see them.

  Patience nodded to the older woman and then hurried to Kitty. “I made a sale.”

  “As did I. Surely Robert will be pleased tonight. Which one did you sell?”

  “The one of couples dancing at a ball.”

  Kitty smiled. “That one was lovely. One of my favorites of yours.”

  A pretty blush rose on her little sister’s cheeks. “Thank you. And you? Which panorama did you sell?”

  “The Tower of London.”

  She grinned. “That’s wonderful.”

  Kitty toyed with the fringe at the bottom of her reticule. “It…”

  “What?”

  “The Tower of London was one that Robert had insisted I add that odd shape to. Do you suppose it was a coincidence that it was the only one the man was interested in?”

  Patience scrunched her blond brows. “I wonder if we’ll ever know his reasons for having us put it in only select ones.”

  “I know not. But i
t was almost as if the man was searching for just that one.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “He looked at several, quickly refusing them. But when he saw that one, actually studied was more like it, he acted excited, paid me, and then hurried away.”

  Patience shook her head. “Who can guess the interests of people? Though we don’t know why Robert wants the triangle in only some, I can’t imagine that someone would buy it simply for that purpose. The image is so tiny as to be nearly invisible. A person would have to really scrutinize the panorama to even find it.”

  Kitty was just about ready to say that it was exactly what the man had done, but saw a group of people approaching. No time to debate the issue now. She tapped Patience on the shoulder. “Guess we should get back to it.”

  Patience looked in the direction of the people. She smiled and gave a wave over her shoulder as she rushed back to her own booth.

  Another man, dressed much like the first, approached and asked to see Kitty’s work. She showed him all that she had. At the very last, she reached for another one of the Tower of London. And the same as before, the man chose that one over the others, barely giving them a perusal.

  Robert had made sure to mention, more than once, that she was to have at least two of the Tower of London at hand at all times. And that those and only those would have the triangle added until he instructed them otherwise.

  Was her cousin losing his mind? It didn’t make any sense. Yet for some reason, that particular panorama was the only one people seemed to desire today. She hadn’t noticed the artwork in it to be superior to the others she had done, but maybe she couldn’t be objective about her own work. But to be fair, Kitty enjoyed painting country scenes or animals much more than stuffy old buildings. Perhaps that showed in her work that she wasn’t as interested in painting the Tower as some other things.

  “Let me see what ya got.”

  Kitty glanced up at the man standing entirely too close to her and barely stifled a gasp. His clothing was old, soiled, and tattered, and he was quite rough looking. Eyes darting every which way, hands fisted at his sides, and a chest that resembled a barrel. From his odor, it was apparent that he had recently imbibed in liquor but had not had a bath.

  She tried to breathe through her mouth instead of her nose as she forced a pleasant expression. “I have several different scenes. Is there anything you—”

  “I said let me see what ya got.”

  How rude. Why was he so antagonistic? It was days like today she wished Robert would do the sales portion of the business and let Kitty and her sisters concentrate on the painting. “Of course, sir.” She’d used the term lightly. The ruffian was definitely not the type of man who normally bought her work. At least not lately.

  Especially not that particular day, with the well-dressed gentlemen who’d bought the Tower of London.

  Trying to keep control of her temper at his rudeness, she angled behind her and grabbed the first one she could reach. “This one is quite nice of the—”

  “I wanna see them all.”

  She blinked. “Oh, I—”

  He leaned close enough that even her mouth breathing didn’t hold back his stench. “All of them now. At one time. I’m in a rush, so don’t dally, gel.”

  Kitty blinked. “Certainly.”

  She had three left to show him. She handed him the jester at Astley’s Amphitheatre, the couple with the carriage, and a third one of an old barn surrounded by a barren field. A part of her cringed as his grubby fingers grasped the paper that she’d spent hours working on. If he didn’t buy them, would she be successful in removing the soiled corners so she could attempt to sell it to someone else?

  He grunted as he perused each one. “No. Not these.” He tossed them to the counter behind her. “What else?”

  She spread her hands to show there were no more. “I’m afraid that’s it.”

  With narrowed eyes, he gave her a glare so cold it chilled her to her bones. “There has to be something else.”

  Fear trickled down her spine and she swallowed hard. “P-perhaps if you’d come back another day, I’ll have something more to your liking. Or, if you tell me what you’d prefer, I can paint a special order for you.” They didn’t normally do those, but Kitty was desperate for him to go away.

  He turned his head and spat — spat! — on the floor, the disgusting mass coming too close to her left boot. The man stared at her like he tried to memorize her features. “What is your Christian name?”

  Startled, Kitty pressed her hand to her chest. “What?” How inappropriate. But he glared at her, unblinking, his chest heaving in and out as if he was quite perturbed. Was he not going to leave until she complied? Right at that moment, she’d do just about anything to make him go away. Gritting her teeth together and forcing out the words, she answered, “My name is K-Kitty.”

  He studied her for a moment. “Kitty. Very well. I’ll be back, of that you can be sure.”

  She wrapped her arms around her middle as he stalked away. What in the world had just happened?