Douglas chuckled as he continued to paint.  "Nae, the painting will be for a new showing in London.  I am thinking a series.  What yu see as miserable, others see full of texture and color.  A place to visit or wish tae when living in a busy city full of much more crowded streets and crowded full o' people.  Most people want to be where they are nae, rather than enjoy where they are."  He shrugged. 

"For me, this is a lonely location full of stories of an aging building that may nae 'ave a living person that can tell of all it has seen.  Sae I paint it sae that one day when it is nae more, there is a recording of what once was."  He had been called to it.  He could almost 'feel' it had a story, or many stories, that it wanted to tell, if only it could.

He glanced over at her.  "Nae, the comment aboot the commission was what I thought yu might be in the mind of.  Many ask me of such requests.  Apparently, yu are nae."  He gave her an impertinent wink and went back to painting.  "Sae, what brings a lass like yurself out in this, 'ow did yu call it?  Oh, yes, miserable sight.  And alone at that?"

He had not introduced himself, as he didn't figure it mattered.  It was actually nice just talking with someone that didn't know who he was.  Between his paintings and being an Earl, he rarely got to just meet someone without previous impressions or wanting something of him when in London or back home.  One of the reasons he liked traveling out when he sought out new places to do some painting, was that the first few days of people not knowing who he was.