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CHAPTER SIX
“Life’s unfair, Priscilla.”
The way he says my name makes it sound like a term of endearment, but his words cut. I lower my gaze. So much for his humanity.
Releasing me, he sighs and pours himself a cup of tea as if he needs liquid fortification. I stare into my cup. This is so messed up.
“Finish the tea,” he tells me.
“I don’t want to,” I grumble. A hangover is the least of my problems right now, and I rather like how the alcohol emboldens me.
“That’s not being a nice guest, Priscilla.”
“Ha! I’m not your guest. I’m more like yourprisoner.”
“Is that what you prefer being called?”
“Well, no...”
“Then be a good guest and drink your tea.” He sounds like a parent telling their child to be good and eat their veggies.
“What if I don’t want to?” I return.
“A good guest gets to stay in the Artemisia Room. A bad guest—or prisoner, if you prefer—can stay in the dungeon.”
He has a dungeon?
Deciding I don’t want to know the answer, I pick up my tea and finish it. A quiet descends between us till I ask, “So you didn’t answer how you came to like art?”
“As a kid, I worked for a guy who ran the counterfeiting division within theJing San.He counterfeited everything from money to jewelry to art. He had this artist who produced amazing replicas. I used to sit and watch the man paint for hours. It was mesmerizing. What really cemented my interest was seeingJudith Slaying Holofernesat the Uffizi.It was as if, through her brush, Artemisia wielded the scimitar upon the oppressor’s throat.”
“It’s amazing how still images can evoke such emotion, as if they’re alive and breathing,” I say. “So you think the painting was a reflection of what happened in her own life?”
“She was raped by a fellow artist, a worthless coward. How could that not be an influence?”
Rafe refills my cup with more tea. I open my mouth to object but think better of it. I drink it down while Rafe watches me. I can see the flames from the fire pit reflecting in his eyes. That is, I think it’s the fire pit.
“Tomorrow I’ll show you the East Gallery,” he says.
I wonder if it’s a good sign that he likes to play host and show off his art collection? “Okay. What’s in the East Gallery?”
