"Dear friends every year during the April Stanley Dinner I reveal my latest paintings," Mr. Howard stated to the crowd.

"And although I have an artistic inconsistency you still manage to tolerate me," he smiled and some laughed.

"This latest set is the result of those inconsistencies, the years I have spent in silence searching for something with enough meaning, enough weight to be pressed down with the colors which art must form itself with, taking shapes of the unconscious thoughts and hopes we have for the future in other words I hope you do not think the years of wait were wasted on a talentless Earl; so please uncover the paintings," he said to the staff.

Oohs and ahs echoed through the room as the crowd gasped at the unique recited paintings mirroring each other through the room like a grand hall of paintings.

"These are not for sale but they are entirely at the discretion of Lord Morlden the head of the arts in London who bought all of them and will be taking them to London for his students and then to other places open to the public for viewing as an exhibit called La Promesse," he said and Cynthia smiled as if he were talking about her so did everyone else cheer and clap talking amongst themselves circling through the maze of paintings.

It was an immense ocean of paintings and like sea salt hitting my eyes it burned and I was partially senseless for the moment for the paintings were all of a female, as it was called La Promesse I deducted this could only be about Cynthia, she was the one he had committed himself to. At a closer inspection I saw one of them was familiar, and the earl had made his way to me as I tried to figure out who she was, and there were only two options, Cynthia or I, but my hubris was not so much that I could say who.

"Milord," I bowed.

"Lady Alice," he said.

"La Promesse, how French of you" I remarked.

"Yes well I have always enjoyed my travels there."

"Right, well I have a question for you if I may?"

"Please."

"I see this one is quite familiar but is the subject a constant one or are there more muses to La Promesse?"

"I believe in your good judgment of art so what would you say it is?"

"I believe that this one I may have seen it previously but this one reminds me of someone else," I pointed the dark curls.

"And what do you deduce from that?"

"That your heart..." I was about to say Mr. Howard's heart was torn in two when Cynthia came to take him away once more.

"They want a picture of you next to your painting m'lord," Cynthia said.

"Oh of course, excuse me Lady Alice," he said and I nodded feeling as if my throat had twisted itself all the way to the bottom of my laced up corset.

No one could tell from the hidden faces who was the real subject and neither could I, it was like I was erased from his history, as I looked I knew some of these were of me yet they no longer had the preciseness I once saw up in the Tower, did this mean I did not exist in his future? Was I but a shadow that passed through his life and it was why he had chosen to get rid of them instead of letting them sit up in the Tower? Was this also why he got rid of William? Was Mr. Howard ridding himself of all the traces I had left behind in Stanley Hall because he wanted to start anew with Cynthia?

"Looks like Cynthia has inspired the genius out of Mr. Howard," Mr. Henry came around as I stared at one of them, this one I knew was from the night we kissed, my shoulders uncovered and my white night dress designed on the canvas.

"What?"

"The woman in the painting? The dark haired girl?"

"Yes of course," I stared into the painting thinking back to our first kiss.

"Lady Alice you are pale," he said as I wiped a sweat of summer fever to the side.

"Am I?"

"Go upstairs, go rest before my mother notices it."

"Right of course, your mother, why else would you worry? You know nothing besides your mother's will and plans."

"Goodnight Lady Alice," he nodded and I left with Edna to my chambers.

The moment we had blurred into questions, the words that came out from his mouth were pleasant, and he said we could be friends, but had I overestimated them? Was the moment inflated in my mind because of my affections for him? Had I been silly once more? Mr. Howard was still engaged and I was a month away from my wedding if Sir Holloway did not come through, I was in reality once more.

"What is it?" Edna asked creaking open the door to my room. "Mrs. Hall said she saw you getting out of the drawing room in a hurry."

"Yes did you see the paintings?"

"I did, they were...

"Beautiful."

"Yes do you think..."

"Cynthia was his muse? Apparently we both were..." I sighed defeated when it came to finding out Mr. Howard's meaning behind his art.

"I thought I saw some of you there."

"Yes some of them were painted a long time ago."

"You must not look so sad then milady."

"I know but I am starting to believe I may have exaggerated my enthusiasm about Mr. Howard, I think he is trying to get rid of me because when we last spoke he was adamant about never parting with the painting and yet he has sold them all."

"It is not your fault he is such a hard man to read."

"Well I guess not."

"Could you not have picked someone simpler? A man you could see right through?"

"Yes I suppose I could have but apparently I am not made for a simple man."

"No indeed you are not," Edna and I laughed at my honesty.

"Have you given any thought to what will happen if Cynthia goes to jail and the earl is in love with her?"

"No, but if it comes to that then shall I be the one to blame for coming in between his happiness?"

"You and Mrs. Hall are doing the right thing, I know that much."

"Yes but it will prove too painful for me to know it."

"Yes."

"Still I cannot hand him over for Cynthia does not care for who he is, only what she achieves by his side, to prove she is no less than any other girl only because she will have the title of wife. She was recently obsessed with Mr. Henry she cannot be in love with Mr. Howard, oh if I could only put her and Henry together everything would be easier but he does not want her."

"Yes and she chases after him like a pet in desperate need of attention, my blood rises from not being able to shout bloody murder every time we see her."

"I understand but we cannot accuse her unless the courts do, if we say she is guilty and they release her we will be in the wrong once more, we must be patient yet vigilant."

"And have you forgotten all about Sir Holloway's question?"

"Like I said I was not made for simple men."

"Enough of the future then shall we sleep here or in my chambers?"

"In yours, I am just going to read a little before joining you."

"I will leave a candle on so you do not have to stumble through the night."

"Thank you Edna." Edna helped me into a nightgown not wanting to bother the lady's maid and she left for her room to get ready for bed alone as it was a habit of hers.

Alone on the bed after reading for quite a while almost taken off my guard when something unlocked and at once I got up on my feet with the candle in hand to burn whoever was trying to haunt my night.

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No part, character, names, plot, setting, conflict or resolution, point of view, theme or symbolism of this story may be replicated.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.