The children were improving at all their practices quickly. Edward was becoming proficient with the Latin verbs, and Greer had taken a renewed interest in calligraphy, now that she could decorate her writings with the pictures she was so very talented with. Her mother discouraged this unnecessary frivolity, but I assured Katriona that the drawings were harmless, that the lass would likely outgrow her imaginative fancies over time. This was clearly untrue. The child possessed a gift I had never before witnessed in someone so young. Her drawings were uncannily true to life, her proportions of line and dimension astoundingly correct. And the artistic flair she gave the realism only added to the beauty. I planned to try to placate Katriona soon, just before I took my leave of Kinloch. I would make a genuine attempt to enlighten her to the extent of her daughter’s talent. Whether or not she chose to listen was beyond my control. Katriona had softened toward me somewhat.
