The Mistress Runs Away

mirror back to Joanne.
The artist, cheeks flushed, nodded with a look of enthusiasm.

“Ah, yes! Please adjust your posture as I described earlier.”

* * *

The portrait work took longer than expected.
The sketching process alone took two hours a day for a full month.
The background had already been painted and the posture was in place, but the facial expression was the most difficult part.

A portrait of a woman in an elegant dress against a peaceful, warm natural background, also sitting in an elegant posture, leaving only her face empty.

Jenok explained to Killian, who was staring at the painting closely, in a cautious manner.

“The artist is renowned for taking too much pride in his art and being very particular to the point of not completing the work until he is fully satisfied with it.
It has been difficult to hire him since he was booked for the next five years, so I actually had to pull a few moves here and there to have him accept the offer ….”

The problem was that this was a portrait that would officially go up in the family corridor on the day of the engagement ceremony.
But it was impossible to say for certain whether the difficult and sensitive artist would be able to complete the portrait in the next three months or so.

“He is insisting that he didn’t get a smile he likes very much, and that as soon as he sees a smile he likes, he’ll draw it in right away.
But we’re going to the island tomorrow..
Shall I put pressure on him?”

“No.”

Shaking his head, Killian looked at the servant standing beside him and had him put the painting away.

“Let him accompany them to the island.”

“What?”

****