Chapter 20
Cécile finished sitting for her portrait the next day. I wondered if she would continue to see Klimt, but she had very little to say on the subject. We spent the afternoon at the Imperial, hosting Friedrich and Anna, and I must say that being in the proximity of such eager love made me feel nearly as cynical as the Countess von Lange. I turned my back to our guests (who weren’t paying us the slightest attention anyway) and read my mail, laughing when I came to Davis’s letter.
“You’re quite diverted,” Cécile said.
“My butler is concerned that your maid will suffer in the cold weather.”
“It is essential we keep them apart, or one of us is going to lose a servant.”
“You could move to London,” I said, bending down to scratch Brutus’s head.
“I’ve already been away from Paris longer than I can bear.”
“But you’re providing so many valuable services in Vienna,” I said. “Look how happy Friedrich and Anna are. Do you think her parents will ever come around to accepting him?”
“Herr Klimt was impressed with his sketches. He will help the boy. But whether that makes him acceptable to her parents…” She shrugged. “If he could get a commission to work on the murals in one of the Ringstrasse buildings, he would be in a much better position.”
“He’ll never allow us to arrange such a thing, and I respect him immeasurably for it. But there must be something. The empress doesn’t allow her image to be taken any longer, does she?” I asked.
“But what if he were to draw her—you’ve seen the vitality in his work—she could not help but be charmed. Even if the piece were never exhibited, so long as word got out that he’d sketched her…”
“Could you do that?”
“She’s desperate to leave the palace. It would do her good to get out. I can persuade her to come to us.”
“But will she object to meeting Friedrich?”
“Not if I tell her he is a friend of mine.”
I glanced at the watch hanging from my lapel and called out to our guests. “It’s nearly time to go, Anna. I’ll take you home.” Cécile and I turned our heads so she and Friedrich could bid each other a proper farewell. I pulled on my coat and waited at the door until Anna joined me, her eyes shining.
“He’s so perfectly lovely,” she said as we made our way out of the hotel. When we’d reached the bottom of the stairs to the lobby, I tripped and slammed into a gentleman in front of me. “Jeremy! I’m so sorry.” His hand gripped my arm, and our eyes met only for an instant.
“Lady Ashton—apologies.”
“Jeremy, don’t be so formal. I—”
“Are you going somewhere? Do you need an escort?”
“Oh, you’re so sweet, Your Grace,” Anna said. “But we need privacy. Ladies often have much to discuss, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
He looked at me, questioning with his eyes.
“We’ll be fine,” I said. “We’ll get a fiacre.”
“Very good.” He kept walking.
“The poor duke,” Anna said, looking after him. “He’s so sad these days. I wonder why?”
“It’s not always simple to be happy in love.”
Anna grinned. “Can we walk home? I want more time to chat with you than driving would allow.”
“I suppose so,” I said, smiling. “It won’t be dark for a while. But you must speak to me in German. Cécile has no need to practice her idioms, but I’m not so lucky.”
“I think we should speak French if we’re discussing love.”
“German,” I said with a smile. “You’re supposedly here as a language tutor.”
“Do you think the duke will be married soon? He’s awfully handsome.”
“Yes, I suppose he is handsome.” My voice was slow, measured. I’d never before given Jeremy’s appearance any thought. “I have a hard time seeing him as anything but a little boy.” I explained to her that we had grown up together, and found myself filled with sadness as I remembered days spent with him fishing, climbing trees, and racing our horses.
“What a pity you never fell in love with each other. It would be such a touching story.”
“You’re a hopeless romantic.”
Something caught my eye as we crossed the street. We were being followed. “It’s colder than I thought. Let’s get a fiacre.” I increased my pace, hoping we would find a carriage quickly.
“You’re walking too fast,” Anna said.
“It’s the only thing keeping me warm.” We went another block without seeing an empty coach. Harrison, skilled at slipping into shadows, was hard to see, but I knew he was close behind us. I took Anna by the arm. “Tell me more about Friedrich.”
“He’s found a perfect house for us near his studio. It’s so charming that not even my mother could find fault with it. If he gets a few more commissions—”
“Let’s cross to the other side of the street.” I pulled her to the curb. “A few more commissions, you say?”
“That’s all he’ll need to be able to afford it. I can’t think of anything sweeter than struggling together.”
“It will be lovely, I’m sure.” Harrison waited until we were at the end of the block, then crossed to the other side.
“Things are more simple when you’re not swimming in money, don’t you think? Sharing a snug little house, eating soup all the time. It’s so romantic I can hardly bear it.”
“Poverty isn’t a game, Anna.” My voice was throaty, harsher than I’d intended. I glanced backwards; he was still following us.
“Of course not. But we wouldn’t really be in poverty. It would be more like Marie Antoinette in her little rustic village at Versailles. Papa would never let me starve.”
“I’ve seen the circumstances in which the poor are forced to live. It’s appalling. And for either of us, who’ve never known real hardship in our lives, to speak lightly of their plight…I can’t abide it.”
She fell silent. The footsteps behind us quickened.
“Come, I didn’t mean to upset you.” I increased my pace, and soon was all but pulling her alongside me.
“Please, Lady Ashton, can’t we slow down?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just so cold.” We were only two blocks from her house. “Has Friedrich painted your portrait?”
“No, but I’m going to sit for him next week. If, that is, you and Madame du Lac will help me come up with an adequate excuse to escape from my house.”
“That shouldn’t pose a problem.”
Harrison had crossed the street again and was walking directly opposite us, his top hat pulled low over his face, hands in his pockets, and shoulders hunched. The cold air could not compete with the chill I felt at finding
