“Your Highness, I must apologize. I had never met you before,” she said. “How could I paint someone I’d never seen?”
“Well, that’s true,” the man said. “And yet so many people try.”
“Very unfairly, Your Highness,” agreed Daniel. He shot her a panicked look. The Prince Regent was losing interest in her art, but Daniel needed his attention. He needed the Prince Regent’sinterestin buying the work. Otherwise, how could he barter it for help protecting his nephew?
Fortunately, Li-Na had an answer. “Perhaps I can make amends then,” she said. “There are no lions in China. I had never heard of them until I came here.”
The Prince Regent’s eyes widened. “You’d never even heard of one?”
She shook her head. “And now I see that you are a lion. How could I have missed that?”
“Well, if you’d never met me and never even heard of a lion—”
“You are most kind. But if I may, now that I have met you, I could paint one now just for you.”
“Now? But I cannot be sitting here for days on end while you paint. You’re not a royal artist, and—”
“No, no!” she cried. “I could never hold such a position. But my art is different than oil painting. It is done faster than such great works as those.” She gestured to the oil paintings that surrounded them. “If you would but sit a moment. My supplies are in the carriage. I can paint while you and Lord Daniel discuss matters of import.”
The Prince Regent frowned. “Matters of import? What matters?”
Daniel flashed her a grateful smile then stepped forward. “Nothing, Your Highness. She refers to my poor nephew who is being sorely abused by his grandfather, Lord Gordon.”
“Gordon? What’s that curmudgeon up to now?”
“Well, Your Highness,” Daniel said, “you would not believe the audacity.”
“Of course, I would.” The Prince Regent gestured to the footman nearest the easel. “Get her paints. I shall watch her draw me as a lion.” Then he turned to Daniel. “And you shall entertain me with tales of rude old men.”
“Well,” Daniel said with a grin. “One of them at least.”
So it was done. A footman brought her paper, ink, and her brushes. She was lucky that Bessie had thought to include that in the carriage “just in case.” She was also fortunate to see several lions throughout the room. They were carved into furniture and painted on tables. Everywhere she looked, she saw examples, and she drew her inspiration from them. She also poured her thoughts into every brushstroke. She thought of the Prince Regent who was large in body, powerful in government, and yet still craved the attention of everyone around him. And instead of beginning with the eyes, as she’d done with Daniel, she began with the top of his head. His crown, so to speak, and she drew sweeping lines for his glorious body.
She also tried to hide that her thoughts there were more of Daniel than the corpulent royal.
Meanwhile, the men chatted in a way that was mostly gossip. They traded tidbits about people she knew from the gaming hell and people she did not. There was much laughter behind her and a great deal of outrage. But none of it touched her, none of it frightened her. Every time she heard Daniel’s voice, her heart steadied and her mind returned to her painting. She was safe so long as he was here.
It took more than an hour to complete the work, but in that time, she found that she could draw for benefit. That her work could be not simply a pure reflection of her thoughts, but a piece given for purpose. It wasn’t her preferred method, but for Daniel, she had done it.
She hoped he would like it.
She set aside her brush and stepped back. Then she folded her hands and dropped her head as she gave honor to the Prince Regent. “A lion,” she declared. “Regal, powerful.”
Daniel stood up, coming closer as if drawn. “Such awesome magnificence,” he breathed. Then he pointed to different strokes. “See here, how the mane bursts from the forehead. It looks like a crown, doesn’t it? And here, where the paper seems to shimmer.”
The paper did not shimmer, but she had worked around flaws in the texture that reflected light in different ways.
“And here…Look here…” He continued as if in rapture while the Prince Regent stood back and seemed to ponder what he saw. And in the end, he nodded.
“Very good,” he finally said. “But it’s all in black.”
“Such is the custom of Chinoiserie,” Daniel said.
It wasn’t true. Many great artists in China used color. She just wasn’t one of them.
“I see that,” the Prince Regent said. “It’s proof right there that England is superior even in art.”
Though that statement also wasn’t true, she bowed deeply to the Prince Regent. “And again, I am most fortunate to learn from you.” She turned back to the work. “If Your Highness will indulge me for a moment, perhaps I can learn from your instruction.”