Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

Author:Jocelyn Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;FIC042030;FIC026000;FIC014000
ISBN: 9781493422753
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1871

Sunshine poured into the third-floor turret room, polishing the hardwood floor to a gleam. With windows on three sides, the space was cool even with a small fire frolicking behind its grate. The natural light, however, was perfect.

And that was where the perfection ended.

With her left hand wrapped around a piece of charcoal, Meg breathed in its earthy scent and looked from her reflection in the mirror to her sketch on the canvas beside it. Modest resemblance, indeed. Jasper had allowed her to use this storage room for a temporary studio, but she still didn’t feel like an artist.

During the week she’d been working here, she’d hoped the space would become like a sanctuary, as her old studio above the bookshop had been. Instead, it felt more like a crucible, a place of testing skill and spirit. During the daily dressing changes for her right hand, she’d seen enough to know it would never serve her the way it had. If she was to paint again, it was up to her left hand to do it.

Rocking her head from one shoulder to the other, she expelled a sigh and adjusted her grip on the charcoal. This was her third attempt at sketching a self-portrait. If she didn’t get it right, Mr. VanDyke would know it right away—and he was the one she must impress. If she did, he would match her with clients ready to pay for their own images. But so far, sketching without a perfect sense of touch was only slightly easier than forming letters.

Meg walked several paces away from the easel and tilted her head, studying it.

Rubbish. She saw in the sketch the mere impression of herself, not a copy.

A soft knock preceded Sylvie coming into the room. Tucking a book under her arm, she took Meg’s hand in hers and stretched it until Meg cringed. The painful part over, Sylvie began massaging, breaking up the tough scar tissue that layered Meg’s palm and fingers.

“That should do for now.” With a sly smile, Sylvie dragged an armchair into a soft beam of light and sat before opening the book on her lap. “You need a change of scenery,” she said. “I’m at your service.”

Guessing her sister’s purpose, Meg’s stomach quavered. “You want me to paint you?”

“I want you to practice, yes. Look what I found in the library.” She held up a copy of Charlotte Brontë’s Villette. “It’s a long book, and I can be quite still when I read. What else do you need in a model?”

Perhaps painting someone else would be better. At least this way, Mr. VanDyke wouldn’t be able to see how far Meg had missed the mark. After moving the mirror and leaning her own portrait against the wall, she set a fresh canvas on the easel.

Oliver Twist meandered into the studio and jumped onto Sylvie. The buff-colored cat curled into a ball on her lap, his tail wrapping around his body as he purred. As long as the

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.