stool in front of the easel.
âWhy not?â Reine-Marie asked, though she seemed to be speaking to Canvas Clara.
âBecause it means staring at yourself for hours on end. Have you ever seen a self-portrait where the person didnât look just a little insane? Now I know why. You might start off smiling, or looking intelligent or thoughtful. But the longer you stare, the more you see. All the emotions and thoughts and memories. All the stuff we hide. A portrait reveals the inner life, the secret life of the person. Thatâs what painters try to capture. But itâs one thing to hunt it down in someone else, and a whole other thing to turn the gun on ourselves.â
Only then did Reine-Marie notice the mirror leaning against the armchair. And Clara reflected in it.
âYou start seeing things,â said Clara. âStrange things.â
âYou sound like Ruth,â said Reine-Marie, trying to lighten the mood. âShe seems to see something in that map that no one else can.â
Sheâd sat down on the sofa, feeling the springs where no spring should be. The portrait, which had appeared stern when sheâd first seen it, now seemed to have an expression of curiosity.
It was an odd effect. How the mood of the portrait appeared to mirror the mood of the actual woman. Clara too was looking curious. And amused.
âShe saw W. B. Yeats at one of her poetry readings last year,â Clara remembered. âAnd this past Christmas she saw the face of Christ in the turkey. That was at your place.â
Reine-Marie remembered it well. The fuss Ruth had made, trying to get them to not carve the bird. Not because she believed the Butterball was divine, but because it could be auctioned on eBay.
âI think âstrangeâ and Ruth are fused,â said Clara.
Reine-Marie took her point. The woman, after all, had a duck.
Now the portraitâs expression changed again.
âWhatâre you worried about?â Reine-Marie asked.
âIâm worried that what I see might actually exist.â She gestured at the mirror.
âThe portraitâs brilliant, Clara.â
âYou donât have to say that.â Clara smiled. âI was just joking.â
âIâm not. It really is. Itâs far different than anything else youâve done. The other portraits are inspired, but this?â
Reine-Marie looked again at the canvas, and the strong, vulnerable, amused, afraid middle-aged woman there.
âThis is genius.â
â Merci . And you?â
â Moi ?â
Clara laughed, imitating her. â Moi ? Oui, madame. Toi . Whatâre you worried about?â
âThe usual things. I worry about Annie and the baby, and how Daniel and the grandchildren are doing in Paris. Iâm worried about what Armand is doing,â Reine-Marie admitted.
âAs head of the Sûreté Academy?â asked Clara. âAfter what heâs been through, itâll be a breeze. Heâs facing spitballs and paper cuts, thatâs all. Heâll be fine.â
But of course Reine-Marie saw more than Clara. Sheâd seen the visit to the Gaspé. And sheâd seen the expression on Armandâs face.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
While theyâd been at dinner, the front had moved in, bringing thick flurries. Not a blizzard, but constant heavy flakes that would need shoveling in the morning.
At the door, after putting on all his outerwear, Olivier shoved the map into his jacket and zipped up.
After saying good night to Clara, the friends walked through the large flakes, along one of the paths dug across the village green, their feet sinking into the new snow. Gabri walked beside Ruth and held Rosa, cradling the duck to his chest.
âYouâd make a good eiderdown, wouldnât you?â he whispered into what he assumed were her ears. âSheâs getting heavy. No wonder ducks waddle.â
Trailing behind, Myrna whispered to
Philip Pullman
Dennis J Butler
lesley
Kyotaro Nishimura
Alaina Stanford
Grace Brannigan
Aria Glazki, Stephanie Kayne, Kristyn F. Brunson, Layla Kelly, Leslie Ann Brown, Bella James, Rae Lori
Christian Cameron
Melanie Jacobson
Nancy Moser