~~Artiste~~(Benedict Bridgerton)

Muse

Dearest Readers,

These Days, the modern young lady must display a miscellany of talents in her quest for a suitor. She must be a witty conversationalist, an accomplished musician, and an expert in the art of the swoon. For managing to faint with nary a petticoat out of place is a most coveted talent indeed. Of course, not everyone has fallen victim to the royal fever sweeping through London Town. One Diamond in particular seems quite immune...making this author wonder if the crown has lost its luster

       Benedict patiently waited in his study, in fact, he never left from the night before. He was too busy looking at her beautiful pieces of art, they were mostly of flowers and the occasional gentlemen who he could only assume were her brothers or father. He had been so busy in fact that he had to peel the pages from his drooling cheek when he awoke slumped over his desk. 

    "My Lord" A maid's head popped in, "Lady Sheppard has arrived" Benedict shot from his chair, patting down his hair and trying to adjust his shirt. 

    "She can come in" he anxiously replied rolling up his sleeves. Elizabeth walked into the darkroom surprised, it was the complete opposite setting she looked for in a studio. It was stuffy and the curtains were all drawn except for one. The walls were dark mahogany and there was a clutter of paints, pages, and canvas' everywhere. She looked at the figure across the room, his hair was a sloppy mess and his white undershirt was almost completely unbuttoned revealing his muscular chest.

     "Did you-Did you sleep here Benedict?" she raised a brow as he shrugged.

    "That obvious eh?" She gave her a lopsided grin as she shook her head.

     "That will be all Nan" Benedict dismissed the maid and pulled a chair out for her but she passed him and headed straight for the window.

      "Natural lighting is the best" She quickly threw open the red curtains and illuminated the room "And a breeze is necessary for this weather is it not?" She looked back at him with a smirk as she crossed the room to open another window.

    "Indeed" He walked over to his desk, collecting the pieces and shoving them nicely into a folder and turned back to where she stood "Your pieces" He handed them back to her.

     "And what was your opinion?" She inquired now settling at the small table in between them.

     "I find your watercolors to be your strongest media, those paintings of the flowers you did were exquisite, but you may need to work on creating an entire piece. Setting and creating a background" Elizabeth nodded with a smirk on her face "Your charcoal pieces are nice, but I wish you would expand your subject matters" He laughed slightly "I could only look at flowers and your brothers for so long" Elizabeth giggled,

     "Well they are the only things that seem to stay put for a long time" She now placed both her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her hands "You were honest....thank you" Benedict smile brightly now fiddling with his own sketchbook in hand "So where do we begin?" Elizabeth sighed as she looked at the clutter in the back of the room

      "First..." Benedict reached towards her, grabbing her wrist and taking her hand. It was the first time their bare hands had touched and it felt like electricity, she sucked in a short breath and watched as his eyes admired her skin. He placed her hand down on the table, tracing along her palm and stretching her fingers out.