Patience

Previously

…Mr. Cartwright’s proposal, delivered with a polite, almost transactional air by her mother, had been the final straw, a stark reminder of the life that awaited her, a life meticulously planned, devoid of the vibrant colours that Julian seemed to conjure with every stroke of his brush. A shadow detached itself from the ancient oak at the garden’s edge, and Eleanor’s breath hitched. Julian. He moved with an easy grace that was utterly alien to the stiff formality of her usual acquaintances. His dark hair, unruly and catching the stray beams of sunlight, framed a face etched with a kind