Hannah took a fleeting glance around her studio, ensuring it was fit for guests to view.
That morning, she and Lucy had busied themselves with preparation of the parlour room to build an exhibition of her work to date. Hannah had to admit it quite excited her – she allowed herself a moment of grandeur where she imagined a queue of people at the door awaiting the spectacle. Internally, she reprimanded herself for such an egotistical fantasy but in truth, even having two friends attend exclusively to view her art was such a major step for her. She had never showcased but had imagined what it would feel like on many occasions and finally somebody had been interested enough to make it happen! She shivered a little with nerves at the possibility Nathaniel would be disappointed after Sophia had waxed so lyrical about Hannah’s outstanding talent – she worried that her work was not at the standard he would be expecting.
She took one last look around at the many easels displaying works in various different materials; in watercolour, oils, pastels and charcoal. There was certainly an eclectic mix, as any exhibition should have. Additionally, there were landscapes, portraits, seascapes, bold abstract and sky scenes. She nodded, feeling she had prepared everything to the best of her ability and felt as ready as she would ever feel.
This was opportune because Lucy was now pushing the door open for her guests. Hannah had discreetly concocted a plan with Lucy that she would meet them on the doorstep at the pre-arranged time to avoid them knocking or ringing the bell, which would alert Anne to the arrival of guests and that she would tell them the Dowager Duchess was resting and so they should be very quiet crossing the hall. If there was any way Hannah could circumvent her mother-in-law’s awareness of this meeting to exhibit her art, she would do it. Lucy understood and was more than happy to participate in a little covert stealth to ward off the woman who would undoubtedly pour scorn and shame onto what should be Hannah’s celebration.
Excited to welcome her guests, Hannah looked quickly down to smooth out her skirts and realised with a jolt that her fingers were black from charcoal. Her mother-in-law’s words jumped up at her – that she was not fit to be a Duchess. A Duchess did not greet guests with filth and dirt upon her hands. She grabbed at a rag she kept nearby the easel and swiped her hands quickly upon it as she saw beautiful Sophia sweep into the room, looking fresh-faced and happy, her skirts flowing out behind her as if she were entering a ballroom. Her cousin, Nathaniel followed behind and his face lit up at the sight of all the easels displayed around the room.
‘Sophia! Nathaniel! Welcome!’ Hannah forced herself to appear gracious and gregarious though in that moment she felt rather wretched. She stood and went to her friends, greeting Sophia with an embrace and curtsied, extending her hand to Nathaniel, who kissed it and bowed.
Nathaniel’s eye caught on a half-finished landscape Hannah had been revisiting and stepping away from when other projects tempted her.
‘Oh – but this is divine! Look how you have angled it as though the viewer is a creature in the woods looking out from the vines of an overhanging tree!’
Sophia smiled proudly and sparkled at Hannah as she told Nathaniel ‘Hannah has quite the gift for building new perspectives on conventional scenes…I’m sure you’ll see this as we view all her pieces…’
With that, they moved on to a sketch of a lady sitting by a river with her children playing nearby.
‘You have really captured the energy of the children’s play and the relaxation and contemplation of the mother – did these people pose for you?’
‘No,’ Hannah swallowed. ‘I noticed them as I took a walk by the Serpentine one day and rushed home to draw them.’
Nathaniel stared at her in awe for a moment. You mean to say that you seized the moment in your memory and were able to translate it into the page after some time elapsed?’
‘I suppose so, yes,’ Hannah agreed, unsure why this was notable, but happy that it seemed to impress Nathaniel.
Moving on to the image of the sky that Hannah had painted back at the Haworth residence, Nathaniel stopped and – with his fingers an inch from the canvas – traced the movement of the sweeping clouds. He was mesmerised.
‘Tell me, how did you apply the various textures to achieve such realistic cloud formations?’
‘I used a wide brush for the sweeping arcs here…’ Hannah demonstrated ‘and for the dappling here, I used a small sponge. These denser clouds were developed using layering of rags bathed in the paint…’
‘You have such novel methods! And such innovative images as the result of your inventive approach!’
Hannah smiled shyly, basking in the appreciation of her work, which was such a rare occurrence – especially in this new household.
Sophia stood back, watching her cousin and her best friend discuss their shared passion. It consistently occurred to Sophia as they had all grown up, how well-suited the pair would be. Hannah was relaxed with Nathaniel in a way she never seemed to be in the presence of the Duke. Sophia watched as Hannah spoke animatedly about the techniques she used in her compositions and then she considered Nathaniel – so absorbed in Hannah and delighted by her skill and spirited enthusiasm. Sophia saw a spark between them – a meeting of minds and weighty respect. She could tell it was important to Hannah that Nathaniel approved of her work and, in turn, it was clear that Nathaniel was extremely impressed by Hannah’s talent.
They moved on to the next piece; the seascape Hannah had completed just the day before.
‘Why, this is reminiscent of the large painting that hung in the gallery just this week…’
‘I confess, I took my inspiration from that very painting-’ Hannah admitted.
‘And improved upon it!! Gracious. I am thunderstruck! Look at the intricate beauty of it. And how! When one looks from afar it seems large and overwhelming, yet up close there is an abundance of tiny bubbles and delicate details…’ Nathaniel professed.
‘I noticed on the large canvas at your exhibition that despite the water looking blue, there were in fact no blues employed in the make-up of the scene,’ Hannah explained.
‘Is that so?’ Nathaniel puzzled.
‘It is. Therefore, I decided to experiment with usingonlyblue tones – there is such a broad spectrum, when combining mixes of greens, yellows, whites, black, to create a rich variety of blues which – as you cleverly identified – results in a far-away scene of deep, encompassing ocean, yet up close lends itself to a plethora of colour detail.’
‘It is sublime….’ Nathaniel said in a low, admiring voice, then stopped quite abruptly.
He took a breath, as if to speak, then shifted a little closer, whispering, but loud enough that Sophia should also hear his suggestion.
‘You should display your work publicly, your Grace.’
