fourteen
EDITH HAD MADE a few mistakes—many mistakes—and it was time to pay for them, both materially and spiritually. She wanted to reimburse Perry for buying the Star Maiden, no matter what he said, and she wouldn’t allow Marianne to buy the painting. Also, she ought to apologise to Perry again and have a private conversation with him.
But first, she needed a word with Valentine. So even though she wanted nothing more than to see Perry again and lay all her lies out, she went to Bloomsbury.
Loud voices and laughter came from the other side of the door to Valentine’s flat. She knocked hard to be heard over the noise.
Valentine himself opened the door. “Dear Edith. What a pleasure. Please do come in.” He held the door open for her, shouting over his shoulder, “Beautiful Astrea is here.”
The cheek of him.
Daphne, Neville, and other people Edith didn’t know crammed into the sitting room. An empty bottle of wine lay in a corner, along with discarded jackets, ties, and ladies’ capelets. Plates with half-eaten sandwiches were scattered around. She twitched her nose at the smell of tobacco.
“Edith.” Daphne rushed to hug her. “So you changed your mind and came here.”
She removed Daphne’s arms from herself. “I’m not here to stay.”
Neville raked a long gaze over her, but it didn’t seem to show appreciation.
“Everyone.” Valentine filled a glass of wine and raised it. “Please, join me in a toast for Edith’s beauty and the outrageous amount of money I made.”
“Valentine, I need to talk to you.” Before he could answer, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the next room.
“What is it, my dear?” He polished off his glass with one tilt of his head. “Listen, if it’s about the swimming pool, I’m sorry. I had no idea you hated swimming pools. Daphne said you’d be fine.”
“You promised me you wouldn’t sell my painting.” Anger rose to the fore. She shook with it. “I demand you give me the money you made out of it.” So she could pay Perry and take the darn painting, even though he didn’t want her money.
Valentine turned serious. “Oh, that. I’m sorry, but I thought you knew. Daphne was supposed to tell you before the sale.”
She let out an unladylike curse. “No, Daphne didn’t tell me anything.”
“I had a huge debt I needed to settle rather urgently. If I hadn’t, I’d be in serious trouble.”
“You broke our deal.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Try to understand. There were people who would have hurt me if I hadn’t paid. I owed a large sum to Daphne’s father, and he isn’t a man you want to upset. Selling the goddesses was Daphne’s idea actually.”
Edith hitched a breath.
Valentine glanced at the door. “I told her the goddesses’ series wasn’t for sale, and it wasn’t complete, anyway. I neededone more model for Astrea. Professional models aren’t easy to find, and they’re expensive. Daphne said she would find a model.”
“She convinced me to pose, and I was cheap and foolish. You knew you were going to sell the Star Maiden before you started painting it, but you lied on my face. And you never wanted to paint me specifically. You merely needed a sacrificial lamb.”
“Oh, no.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “When I saw you, I understood immediately you would be perfect. If I hadn’t liked you, I wouldn’t have painted you.”
“Wonderful. Really. I feel so much better now.”
“I’m sorry for the deceit, but Daphne is like her father. You don’t want to go against her.”
She rubbed the aching spot between her eyebrows. “So you don’t have any money now, I gather.”
“Thirty pounds.”
“Good gracious.”
“I needed the whole set of goddesses before selling the paintings because all the goddesses together make an impression, and that raises the price, and I was right. Those paintings were a success. Your painting made hundreds of pounds. Will you pose for me again?”
The question shocked her. “Absolutely no. Never.”
