She had not the least sense of pose. She was just a wooden sort of Englishwoman, as neutral as her mother, who clipped her g’s and powdered her nose, with dull red hair and pale green eyes, who took very little interest in anything or anybody. But she shot well and rode well, and went to church twice on Sunday.
She sat half a dozen times, and the rising artist did what he could with her. Jim’s special talent lay in his color and his sense of values. He used the dark oak of the gloomy old library for his background, and he painted Priscilla’s hair a warm and glowing Titian color, with a striking and distinguished pallor for the face; and for the eyes a shade of blue which was extremely daring but successful. The picture in its style and its distinction was absurdly unlike Priscilla herself; yet somehow it was sufficiently like her to pass muster with those who cared more for Priscilla than they did for her counterfeit presentment.
About the fifth day of Jim’s sojourn Cheriton announced that the picture of Priscilla was going to turn out very fine. He exhorted Kendal publicly to send it to the next Royal Academy, and complimented him upon having had the foresight and good sense to obtain the man of the future to do the work. The bullet-headed Yorkshireman was pleased, of course, since every bullet-headed Yorkshireman likes to be complimented on his foresight and good sense by an acknowledged expert.
“I wonder if he would paint my wife,” said Mr. Crosby of the Foreign Office.
“You can ask him, my dear fellow,” said the expert.
“Would he want a stiff figure?” said Mr. Crosby, who had a very practical mind.
“It would cost you a cool thousand, I dare say,” said Cheriton, before Kendal could announce that it had cost him five hundred.
“Stiff, ain’t it, for an unknown man?” said Mr. Crosby.
“He is going to be the man, my dear fellow,” said Cheriton. “What do you say, Caroline? You have seen some of his work.”
“I agree with you, Cheriton,” said the flattered Caroline, who knew as much about pictures as Ponto did. “He has painted two of my nieces, and in my opinion they are excellent likenesses.”