The first sitting was eminently satisfactory. Miss Robinson and her
mother were punctual to the very stroke of the clock, the new canvas
stood waiting on the smaller easel, and everything was ready for an
immediate start. Wyndham had been able to obtain on hire a most lovely
Empire chair, with swans' heads for armrests, and exquisitely mounted
with chiselled garlands. It did not take him long to find his
arrangement, and he saw now how shrewd had been his idea of the Empire
chair. It was remarkable how Miss Robinson and the chair composed
together: it gave her distinction, heightened her personality, and the
profile at once seemed to take precisely the quality which he considered
essential to his scheme. Her right arm rested lightly along the swan's
neck, and the subtle cat's-eye, with its border of tiny pearls, showed
deliciously against the long hand and fingers that emerged from the lace
lying loosely about the wrist. Her left hand lay on her lap, and here
the ancient green scarab and the aquamarine made important decorative
spots amid so great a mass of lace-work. The nankin vase had been sent
to the studio during the morning, so that Wyndham was practically able
to build up his picture before him. Indeed, so interesting was the
result that it promised to lessen by half the labour of creation.
And, now that he had taken the measure of the Robinsons, he was easily
master of the situation. They were not merely in his hands as clients
who were availing themselves of his skill; but surrendered as to one
naturally high above them. In posing Miss Robinson, he had once or twice
given utterance to his satisfaction in so spontaneous a way that the
tremulous sitter had no easy task to maintain her immobility. And then
the kind and condescending explanations with which he accompanied the
many little changes and refinements in the arrangement from moment to
moment were so clever and penetrating! It was really wonderful how
points struck him, and what surprising improvements he accomplished with
a wave of the hand and imperceptible subtle shiftings of Miss Robinson's
position. At last, after many scrutinisings of his sitter from varying
standpoints he suddenly expressed the conviction "Splendid!"
Then--"Wait; the left hand slightly forward, I think; so as to soften
the bend of the elbow.... Ah, that's better. Now it couldn't possibly be
improved upon. Don't you think so, Mrs. Robinson?"
And the mother was as fluttered as her daughter at this sudden appeal.
"Alice looks lovely," she broke out. "You know so well how to make the
best of people. I've never seen her so beautiful."
"It's the beautiful accessories that produce the effect," stammered
Alice.
"They certainly produce some effect," conceded Wyndham. "That is why
they are there. But it's you I'm painting, Miss Robinson. You are the
picture, and the picture will be you--and not the surroundings."
He had arranged his palette, and fell to with the brush in earnest,
bidding her speak the moment she felt fatigued. And, indeed, he insisted
on her resting frequently, though she struggled bravely to keep the
spells of work as long as possible, and confessed to cherishing
ambitions in that direction.
Altogether the ladies were enchanted with their experience. Like Mr.
Robinson, they had never before visited a studio, and it stirred them
with a sense of play rather than of work, suggesting to them endless fun
and merriment. Pleased with the promise of the picture itself, Wyndham
chatted to them charmingly. Miss Robinson, reassured and encouraged by
his gracious suavity, soon felt at her ease, and spoke more freely than
was her wont at any time. A shade of animation came into her features,
and she was ready to break into a laugh at a jest, or to listen to a
more serious little disquisition with the intensest absorption. They
were not infrequent these charming little disquisitions of Wyndham's,
and his visitors thought it wonderful (and told him so with engaging
frankness) that he should be able to go on speaking so beautifully, and
yet never relax his attention from the painting.
He did not prolong the whole sitting beyond two hours, when he expressed
himself delighted with this beginning, and offered them tea.
They accepted eagerly. "Will you be making it, Mr. Wyndham?" they asked,
their eyes shining with amusement.
"Oh, I'm an old hand at it," he assured them. He threw open a door which
they had imagined to indicate a cupboard. "Kitchen, scullery, and every
kind of domestic office rolled into one," he explained, and promptly
disappeared inside it. They came peeping in gleefully, fascinated by the
rough white-washed doll's interior with its miniature dresser, and they
watched him fill his kettle and put together the tea-things. Then he
emerged, set the kettle over the fire, spread the table with a fresh
cloth, and emptied a large bag of cakes on to a fascinating plate of
old-seeming majolica.
"How nice!" said Miss Robinson, her face shining with make-believe
gluttony.
"There are some chocolate fingers among them--just the sort you like,"
said her mother.
"And tiny cream-cakes--just the sort you like, mamma," returned Alice.
"How much tea do you put in the pot?" inquired Mrs. Robinson.
"One spoonful for the pot, and one for each cup," quoted Wyndham
promptly. "And I am always careful to warm the pot first with a little
of the hot water, and, in scalding the leaves, I am equally careful to
catch the water at the exact moment it boils."
"If only our cook were as careful!" sighed Mrs. Robinson.
Wyndham asked them if they would like their tea in the Russian style.
They didn't quite know what it was, but it sounded interesting, so they
said they'd certainly like to try it. Whereupon he fished out a large
lemon, and, cutting it up, put slices into their cups. They were in a
happy mood. They kept him sternly to the role of host, refusing to spoil
the fun by moving a finger to help him. And when he had completed all
the processes, and poured the tea for them, they praised its fragrance
and delicacy to the skies, and in a trice he was called upon to renew
the supply. They likewise declared the cakes delicious, and ate them
with affected greed. Meanwhile he let them see some of his pictures;
showing off his tall, handsome figure, and occasionally balancing his
cup to a nicety, as he talked and manipulated the canvasses from his
point of vantage. And when tea was over, he kept them some little time
further, whilst he exhibited his overwhelming masterpiece, which he had
kept to the end with its face turned away from them. As he wheeled the
big easel round, and the picture came into view, a cry of admiration
broke from their lips. They were indeed surprised to learn that it was
"impossibly" unfinished; to them it seemed that, if justice were done,
it should go straightway into the National Gallery. Their pleasure and
gratification were extreme: they made not the least attempt to hide
their sense of the privilege of sitting at his feet.
And, when they rose to depart, they were absurdly grateful for the
lovely afternoon he had given them. Still staggering under the
magnificent impression of his brilliancy as an artist, Mrs. Robinson
summoned her courage, and suggested that, if he hadn't any other
engagement that evening, he might as well dine with them as dine alone.
The argument struck him as forcible, and he accepted with an
unhesitating simplicity that won her heart still further. He was
thanking her for her kindness, but she raised her hands in horrified
deprecation to check him.
"Kindness," she cried. "Not at all, Mr. Wyndham. We know we are not
worthy of the honour you do us."
"Yes, it is very good indeed of you to come," chimed in Miss Robinson,
as they shook hands. She smiled at him quite frankly now, and her soft
fingers lingered a friendly moment in his.
He shut the door and turned back into the studio; then, as the thought
struck him for the first time, his lips murmured almost involuntarily,
"I do believe Miss Robinson's half in love with me." But he checked
himself abruptly. "Good heavens! what a caddish thing to say." For, with
his innate chivalry, he had certainly never been addicted to the habit
of imagining that this or that woman was immediately enamoured of him.
He returned to the portrait, lingered over it a moment or two, putting
in here a stroke, there a touch or a smear. And somehow the train of
"caddish" thought persisted in his mind; mastered his will and desire to
suppress it. Suppose Miss Robinson should fall in love with him! He
recognised her worth as a human being, but instinctively he placed her
beyond a certain pale. It was not with that kind of woman that one
connected the idea of loving or falling in love; the true type had been
fixed for him once for all. The person, too, perhaps! As he had all but
felt in his discussion of the subject with Sadler, matrimony was really
excluded from his mind. His business in life was work, achievement--his
spirit was almost one of revenge for the past.
Yet, suppose she _should_ fall in love with him! The speculation
persisted, and again he tried to brush it aside. Well, he hoped to
goodness that she would not, and brusquely wielded his paintbrush. In
any case, it was all in the day's work. Take his own case, for instance!
Had he not suffered atrociously during all the time he had known Lady
Betty? In his bitter poverty he had hardly dared say even to himself
that he had met the woman of his aspirations!
Thus reflecting, he wheeled forward his masterpiece again, and worked on
it tentatively, though he did not hope to make serious headway till he
should be able to do some fresh sketches on the spot, and have a few at
least of the models pose to him over again. But it was a pleasure to
feel himself so eager-spirited and hopeful. The Academy dare not refuse
it! The picture must establish his reputation!
He went on till the light failed, then, after reading an hour or two, he
dressed for his engagement with the Robinsons.
He found the family had in no wise relaxed from the pitch of ceremony to
which his first acquaintanceship had wrought them up. But he reflected
that, however indifferent the point might be to him, it was just as well
they should feel it the right thing to meet him on his own plane--as
they understood it. Certainly it was not without its amusing side--the
spectacle of a good honest family stimulated out of their customary
simplicity merely because a starving artist was to regale himself at
their table! And fare sumptuously again the artist did with a vengeance!
He ate, too, with the satisfied contemplation of a good day's work
behind him. He had somehow earned this provender, and the meal had on
that account an extra subtle relish. Besides, he felt so much more at
leisure and at ease than on the former occasion. Then, his visit had
been an uncertain and not over-willing experiment; now, he was
acclimatised, his impression of everything was cooler. The greater
self-possession of the family, too, made the evening distinctly less of
an effort for him. Miss Robinson had largely got the better of her
distressing shyness, and her personality was more in evidence. In her
gentle way she was rising to fill her important position as daughter of
the house.
Wyndham's impression of the Robinsons was thus definite and final; as
much derived from their surroundings as from themselves. He noticed, for
example, that the house itself and everything in it was of an extreme
solidity. Indeed, the substantial walls and solid wood-work were so
unusual in suburban construction, which was associated in Wyndham's mind
with jerry-building, that he could not help remarking thereon when he
and Mr. Robinson were left to their coffee and cigars. The old man was
greatly pleased at this piece of discernment and observation. He
explained that he had had the house built for him twenty years before,
and this solidity represented his dearest philosophy. He hated nothing
so much as a superficial appearance which affected to be superior to the
underlying reality. "Soundness and sincerity" had been his motto
throughout his life, and on that principle his prosperity had been
founded. Wyndham grew infected with this unmetaphysical philosophy. The
ground he had trodden these last years seemed hideously unstable to look
back upon: there was really a wonderful comfort in feeling himself here,
supported on so sure a flooring, surrounded by these strong walls, and
seated on this thickly-cut mahogany arm-chair that was framed to last
three generations. The entire furniture of the house was of the like
soundness--even the crimson couches of the drawing-room were of a
massive build, and the grand piano, like this great dining-room table,
had the fattest of legs, and was resonant of strength and durability.
And in tune with all this solidity was the solid prosperity of Mr.
Robinson himself: his banking account seemed an embodiment of his
life-principles, supporting all this substantiality on its imperturbable
back, like the fabled Buddhistic tortoise nonchalantly supporting the
world. Wyndham's own existence seemed feeble by contrast, ready to go
down before the merest puff of wind. He stretched himself luxuriously,
half incredulous, as if to assure himself it was all no vain imagining;
permitted Mr. Robinson to recharge his glass with port; and lighted
another of those fragrant unpurchasable cigars. It was so good to savour
to the full this sensation of prodigious security! Here one might repose
one's head: might hear the trump of doom ring out, and pity the rest of
the universe.
After all, was there not more than a grain of truth in Sadler's gospel?
In boyhood you could be adventurous; life stretched before you so
endlessly that you could afford to gamble with it. But, when the years
were racing by, you longed for a little peace, a little happiness. This
constant uncertainty of outlook, this perpetual wear of heart and brain,
how it sapped life at the very foundation!
To be "safe!" To be solidly established! The import and significance of
the conception sank deep into him. Sadler was an older man, had gone
through all these phases. "Safety!" No wonder his friend would not
hesitate to barter romance for all that the magic word doubtless meant
to him.