A curious painting of an angel caught my eye on the wall behind the altar. As I came closer to study it more carefully, I could see it was of a woman who looked a whole lot like Imogene in a white robe with wings pointed upwards as if she were ascending to the heavens. Two small doves above her right shoulder flew with her. The whole thing had a William Blake quality to it, ethereal but also peaceful, evoking a sense of serenity and comforting calmness. I reached for my glasses in my jacket pocket and put them on. I found the artists' mark in the bottom right quadrant:
B. E. Russell
Mamma –1876
It took me a moment, but I figured it out. Byrony Everley Russell, daughter of Lord and Lady Rothvale number nine, was an accomplished artist in her own lifetime, well-known for her more mystical style rather than romanticist, but still hugely popular with collectors today. This was a simply gorgeous example of her work, even though it needed a thorough cleaning after nearly one-hundred and fifty years of living in a chapel where candles were burned perpetually during the days when it was in use.
A Byrony Everley Russell just hanging on a wall for the last century and a half, in the old stone church I'd be using as a staging area for my work at Donadea.
Unbelievable.
The date of 1876 made this canvas a lot more recent than any of the Mallerton portraits of Imogene, so the daughter portrayed her mother as a much younger woman than she would've been in 1876…which meant this was done by Byrony to memorialize her mother after Imogene's death. As an angel or as a living woman, I had to agree putting her in the chapel did seem like the most appropriate place for a beautiful angel to repose…
I took out my phone and snapped some pictures. If Ivan sold the Russell to a private collector, he could get a million pounds or more for this one portrait alone. Her work was very much in demand.
In fact, Ivan would have no problem selling off any of the paintings he wished to move. I agreed with him. There was far too much stored in one place. A fire could wipe everything out in mere minutes, and then it would all be lost forever—an incalculable loss for the art world.
And putting irreplaceable paintings such as this at risk was simply not an option.
Chapter 14
IVAN
When I saw her bending down studying something on the ground what looked like it could be wildflowers, I just couldn't help myself. I'd been impatiently waiting on her and was about to start out searching when I spotted her red jacket across the field from the horse barns. The dogs were with her, just as they should be when the mistress was outside walking on her own. After the incident with the drone yesterday, I wouldn't be taking any chances with her protection, either here or in London. If Park Jin-ho targeted Gabrielle for any sort of abuse or threats to frighten her or otherwise, I'd fucking lose my mind. I'd be the one in need of a white coat with extra-long arms and a padded cell instead of him.
The guard dog army would be here in another month. Arriving direct from Prague with a handler who would live with them on the property and keep the undesirables out. Trained working security animals who did not fuck around and attacked on demand when trespassed upon. Posted warning signs >>GUARD DOGS ON PREMISES-DO NOT ENTER<< would be going up soon across the entirety of the lands of this estate. It was Ethan's suggestion actually, and I was fully on board with the idea now.
But at this very moment my thoughts were being distracted by the vision of Gabrielle's luscious bum in another pair of tight jeans, these with many colorful silk patches on them, bent over to admire the purple flowers blooming profusely in the fields this time of the year. I pushed Pontus forward and hoped the noise of the breeze blowing away from her would muffle the sound of his steps.
GABRIELLE
Pretty lavender flowers bloomed all over the ground in clumps, but they weren't the species lavender though, they were more like thistle flowers sans the prickles. I was in awe of the beauty of this place. Donadea was filled with treasures inside the house, yes, but many natural treasures existed on the land of the estate, too. No wonder Ivan loved it here so much. He was born here, and his first memories of life were here. Donadea was as special as the people who had made it their home and lived their lives here for centuries. It was as special as Ivan Everley had become to me. I understood so much more about him than before. Everything about him made sense to me now. Why he was a dominant and so protective of his privacy and the ones he loved.
The ones he loved...
Did he love me? Mr. Finnegan seemed to think so even if he didn't frame it in those exact words. Ivan was honest though, if he felt a certain way, he would probably not be shy about saying it. I knew he wanted me here. He'd told me many, many times by now. He also said it again last night as he was kissing me to sleep. The ultimate in swoony moments of all tim—
A hard blunt nudge from something big poked me right in the ass!
"Ooooh!" I squeaked just before I heard the deep laughter I'd come to know quite well by now, coming from… above me? I whipped my head around so fast my hair hit me on the other side of my cheek only to find Ivan sitting on top of Pontus in riding clothes and wearing tall leather boots.
"Sorry, kitten, it was too perfect an opportunity to pass up and you were so very focused on admiring those little flowers, you never heard us coming."
"Uh huh, a likely story," I said shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand as I looked up and studied him. The man could sit a horse well. And those tall riding boots…and his long hair…and the riding pants. Was he wearing his polo uniform? I felt my mouth start to water and I swallowed deeply before reaching out to stroke Pontus from his long black forehead down to his muzzle. "That wasn't very gentlemanly of you, Pontus, but I don't blame you, sir. Your master is back to being a depraved lord again, and I can see he put you up to it." I smirked up at Ivan. "How are you going to make it up to me now, Lord Rothvale?"
He grinned back at me, looking far too handsome for his own good, and owning that too, as well as his prank on me. "Oh, I have a few ideas, Miss Hargreave, but first I need to get off this beast and come down there where you are and give you a kiss."
"Please, my lord."
He hopped down easily from Pontus's great height as if he'd done it a thousand times and stalked forward, reaching me in two long steps.
He loomed over me, our bodies very close but not quite touching, as he stared down at me with an expression I'd come to know and to crave. His lordly look of dominance and control sparking harshly at me from deep within his green, green eyes.
I took in a sharp breath because I'd forgotten to breathe, and my lungs needed a bit of oxygen to keep going. The beauty of him made me forget to breathe.
He reached out a hand and gathered up my hair and pulled it back, exposing my neck as he liked to do and kissed me with all the fervor and lust and possession, he was so expert at doling out. His tongue speared into me deeply, holding me captive as he took his time owning my mouth and exploring unhurriedly with his. Eventually he retreated his tongue to focus on soft bites and nibbles at my lips, and then below my ear at my jaw. I could go back to breathing again, but sadly, he wasn't inside me anymore.