BLEEDING HEART by MARTHA POWERS

Author:MARTHA POWERS
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER

CHAPTER THIRTEEN “IT’S NOT THAT EASY to get eagle feathers, you know.”

Nell’s comment came out of the blue, breaking through the tension that filled the room after the discussion about Tully. Her eyes were focused on the black bow she’d pulled out of her hair. She untied the ribbon and straightened it out, sliding it back and forth through her fingers.

“When I was first starting out as an artist,” she said, “I decided that the way to fame and riches was to come up with some gimmick that would generate publicity. The theory was that once the art world became aware of my creativity and artistic genius, I’d become a media darling, travel throughout the United States and become filthy rich.”

“Let me guess,” Ham said. His blue eyes glinted with amusement. “You were twelve at the time?”

Nell pursed her lips and shook her head. “I was a very sheltered child. A late bloomer. Not a loose cannon, like some I could mention.” She drew herself up, her ample bosom more prominent than usual. “I was sixteen. The age of optimum wisdom.”

“Ah, I remember those days.” Ham nodded. “Dare I ask if your gimmick had anything to do with painting naked while wearing a headdress of eagle feathers?”

Grant tried to hide his grin, but Nell’s gaze swung to him, and she snorted in disgust.

“Men have no imagination beyond the sexual plane,” she announced.

“Bless the little darlings,” Maggie said.

“My gimmick, you old roué,” she said to Ham, “was to paint with eagle feathers.”

“A sixteen-year-old has few really creative ideas,” Ham said. “I suppose that might have been considered avant-garde in those days.”

“Don’t make it sound like it was before fire, Ham,” Nell drawled. “You were probably out of school and in the working world at the time.”

Ham clapped a hand over his heart as if mortally wounded. The banter between the older couple added a much-needed lightness to the atmosphere.

“As you might have guessed, the project wasn’t a wholehearted triumph.” Her tone was rueful. “I couldn’t paint worth a damn with the feathers. I actually might have had more chance of success had I painted naked. Several years ago, I decided to resurrect the project, and much to my dismay, I discovered that there were enormous penalties for owning or using eagle feathers.”

“You’re kidding,” Ham said. “You mean fines?”

“Yes. They can be as high as ten thousand dollars for having a feather in your possession.”

“Did you know about this?” he asked Grant.

“I didn’t until I started researching the eagle feathers. The laws were set up on the theory that if you protect the feathers, you protect the birds. I think the only people allowed to own and work with eagle feathers are Native Americans, who can use them in art and in cultural rituals.”

“It’s curious that when the feathers turned up after the kidnapping, they were eagle feathers,” Nell continued. “It might be worthwhile to call Artie back to see whether they were all eagle feathers and just which feathers they were. Wing, body or tail feathers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.