The Wedding Portrait
The wedding festivities were about to begin at Harkness Abbey. Lady Laura had consented to give her hand to Thaddeus Grey, whom she had known all of her life and whom she found very dear indeed. Perhaps there was some great romantic ingredient missing from their relationship, but one need not pay any heed: Thad was an attractive man and a boon companion. The wedding gifts were pouring in, and from Baron Nathaniel Lowland, an old friend of Laura's father, came the most surprising gift of all --- his son Ashley! Ashley, a painter of exquisite talent, had been sent to paint Lady Laura's portrait. It could hardly have been expected that he would come to capture her heart as well!