The Golden Tulip: A Novel by Rosalind Laker

Author:Rosalind Laker [Laker, Rosalind]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Historical, Art, C429, Extratorrents, Kat
ISBN: 9780307405609
Publisher: Crown
Published: 1991-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

HENDRICK PONDERED OVER ALETTA HAVING RECEIVED A letter from Francesca. The fact that she had not shared it with him or, to the best of his knowledge, with anyone else in the household was confirmation of what it contained. During the day he had seen the flash of accusation in her expressive eyes before she had lowered her pale lids and scurried away upstairs. Her speed had suggested that she was afraid of what she might say to him if she stayed any longer in his company.

That evening at dinner Aletta did speak of the letter from her sister, giving the information that Francesca was well and working hard. “She writes that Master Vermeer has an almost ethereal control of his brush, able to create vividly as well as sensitively and accurately. With a single touch of paint he can reveal the gleam of a pearl such as Francesca has never seen done before.”

“That’s nice,” Sybylla commented mundanely, her thoughts busy with her own affairs. She had two suitors at the present time and had no intention of marrying either, since both were craftsmen of moderate standing with no chance of ever making a large fortune, good-looking though they might be. If Francesca had written only of painting she was not really interested in seeing the letter, although it was odd that Aletta had not offered to let her read it.

“Well?” Hendrick prompted, wanting to hear more of Vermeer’s technique.

Aletta’s glance fell on him as coldly as a dousing of canal water. She spoke meaningfully, knowing he alone at the table would grasp what lay behind her words. “Francesca didn’t include anything else about her work or that of her master in the letter.”

He stared her out with the bravado he could summon at times. “Then the rest of what is written can be of no interest whatever to me!”

When Aletta dropped her gaze he knew that she understood she should not try to intercede on her sister’s behalf for any change of the arrangements in Delft.

Maria, always concerned for the well-being of the three girls, did not notice the tension between Hendrick and his second daughter any more than Sybylla had. “When you write again, child, tell Francesca always to wear a straw hat in the sun.”

“I will,” Aletta replied in a strained voice.

Griet, who was observant, was curious to know what the trouble was. She wondered if the master ever realized that Aletta, in spite of her docile appearance, could be as stubborn as he when the need arose.

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