“Seeing them from the window and seeing them in the flesh is vastly different,” he chuckled.
The smile on Priscilla’s face faded as she searched his face. “Do your fears stem purely from the fact people might not like your work? Or is something else troubling you?”
Priscilla was adept at reading his mind. As she’d asked direct questions, he could not lie to her.
He opened his mouth to speak but struggled to find the right words.
Priscilla held his hand. “Is it the fact your brother is accompanying Uncle Herbert?”
Damn. Would seeing his brother rouse all the old feelings of resentment? Did he have it in his heart to forgive?
“What the hell will I say to him?” Matthew clutched her hand tight. “What if I feel nothing but hatred in my heart?”
“You won’t. Your heart is full of love. Since your mother’s passing, Simon has tried to reach out to you. Be the better person and accept his hand with good grace.”
With Priscilla at his side, anything seemed possible.
He sighed. “No doubt Simon will be just as apprehensive.”
“I promise you, all will be well,” she said, and he believed her.
Hopkins appeared at the top of the stairs. “Lord and Lady Morford have arrived, sir.”
“Show them in, Hopkins.” Matthew had asked Tristan to come an hour early purely to help banish the nerves. But the sight of the couple only made the event of the day seem all the more real.
The Morfords had barely reached the bottom step when Pricilla came forward, took Isabella’s hands and held them tight.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here.” Priscilla glanced down at Isabella’s swollen stomach with a look of camaraderie. “Matthew is tired of hearing me talk of cribs and christening gowns.”
Isabella smiled and appeared just as eager to talk of their shared experiences. “Then let us leave the gentlemen to their business while we sit and converse over tea.”
Their wives kissed them on the cheek, assisted each other up the stairs and hurried from the room.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Marcus and Anna along,” Tristan said. “They’re in London for a few weeks, and I want you to meet them.”
“Not at all. The more people seen admiring my work, the more appealing my paintings will seem. But I thought the Danburys preferred to stay in France.”
“They do. After her own harrowing experience, Anna wanted to open an agency in London for ladies of quality who find themselves on hard times. She is interviewing people for the post of manager.”
“An agency? It all sounds rather intriguing.”
“The idea is to provide board and lodgings while the ladies find their way in the world. She hopes to help with employment and education too.”
“When I hear of such altruistic pursuits, I can’t help but be ashamed of the years I wasted on the dissolute.”
“Trust me.” Tristan patted Matthew on the back. “We’ve all done things we’d rather forget. The important thing is what we do with our time now.”
Matthew glanced around the room. A deep sense of pride filled his chest when he considered what he’d achieved. “It’s hard to imagine this was once a place where drunken lords gobbled grapes from a lady’s cleavage. Where people frolicked openly with their lovers.”
“I can hardly believe it’s the same room.” Tristan scanned the walls with a look of wonder. “By God, if I’d known you were this talented I’d never have let you waste time hosting lewd parties.”
The compliment touched him.
“Had it not been for Priscilla, the paintings would still be locked away in the attic.” He clutched Tristan’s shoulder. “Can you imagine what my life would be like had I not offered my assistance that night in Holbrook’s garden?”
Tristan grabbed Matthew’s forearm. “Can you imagine what all our lives would be like had you not found the courage to marry?”
They both shivered visib