AppreciatingArtAndBeauty

From IMiA

Juliana approaches Prince Brand before dinner is called, and thanks him again for coming. She's sipping... sparkling water and really is perfectly relaxed. The many years of hosting high stakes Embassy dinners has made this a simple breeze, even with all the royalty in the room. They're there for each other, not her, but if it's good for her cause, she's all for it. She smiles at the bright-haired Prince.

"I do appreciate it. Will you come down to Southside when we have the real party, your highness?"

The Prince looks away from the portrait he has been studying. He smiles. "Do you think that would be wise, your grace? Your party is for those so much less fortunate than I. I would not wish to intrude upon their celebration or draw attention when that attention should be paid to the residents of Southside."

Juliana shrugs. "Wisdom has little to do with the Southside party. But I do think they'd find one minute of your attention to them worth a thousand of mine, and I'm sure there will be all sort of other intrusions anyway."

The prince appears thoughtful. 'If you believe my presence might aid your cause, your grace, then I shall attempt to attend the event."

"Only if you're comfortable with it, your highness." Juliana looks up at the portrait. "My grandfather-in-law. What do you think?"

"It adequately captures him," the prince says. turning back to Juliana, he smiles. "An appreciation of art is a trait you share with the Pinegars, is it not?"

"I don't know if it's art, so much as... having a taste for beautiful things. But my good-nephew is an artist, so I certainly have an appreciation for artists, and the things they need to do their work," Juliana smiles. She tilts her head toward the painting. "This one doesn't speak to me either but we couldn't get the Duchess to give up the one at the estate."

"I am not surprised," the prince says with a smile. He looks about the room. He seems to give each painting no more than a passing glance but julaina somehow knows that Brand is aware of every detail of every painting in the parlor.

"Do you have an example of your good-nephew's work?"

"I do, actually, but..." the Duchess actually blushes. It's a hard blush too, the kind that comes on, and one tries to suppress, but that only makes it worse. "I suppose most people would think it pastoral, but for me, it's a portrait. I love my horses most dearly, and the Count went through a phase of representing the landscapes around Moorefiled, and decided to highlight my horses in one. It's... enormous, nearly life-sized. The canvas alone must have cost him a year's profit, but it's my favorite, of course. But... it's in the stables." She rushes on. "That sounds awful, but Phil had the roof rebuilt before we moved in specially to fit it above the entrance. Our stable-master jokes that he goes walking around in it on breaks."

The prince smiles a warm smile. "It sounds most interesting. It is sometimes difficult to work on so large a scale. I would like to view it should the opportunity arise."

Juliana smiles back at him. "If you stay after dinner I will steal some time away from the gardens to take you back," she offers.

"Thank you, your grace," the prince smiles. 'I do believe I shall take advantage of your genorous offer."

Juliana gives him a little bow and her hair slips over her shoulders to frame her face.

---

Juliana leads Prince Brand into the stables. She's already sent orders ahead to have laterns put up around the painting so it can be seen, and to clean off the top of the manager's quarters. She introduces the stablemaster to his highness, and then he retreats back outside to continue supervision of the many carriages around back. Unless she screams, they're basically alone with the horses. Juliana stops to pet a few muzzles as they go by; a few words for her babies.

The painting can't be missed normally, but the way it's lit currently sets it off. She motions to the footholds leading up to the roof of the manager's quarters. "The close view is to be had from up here, if you'd like?" The duchess seems to have no qualms about climbing up the wall in her current getup.

"Certainly," the prince smiles. "Thank you, your grace."

Juliana slips out of her heels and sets them beside the footholds. Then she hikes her skirt up over her knees and heads up first. (The way this dress is, this really shouldn't give him a view of anything, but it would have to get pulled up on the seamed side for her to be able to climb. In other words, she's not trying to be enticing... she may be enticing, but she's not trying to be.)

When Brand gets up he'll find her sitting on the edge of the roof, feet hanging down, looking up at the massive canvas. She hasn't taken the best spot, but she does seem facinated. "I've never looked at it from here before, or in this kind of light. It was in storage when we were in Shadow. It's been too long."

Brand examines the painting in silence for some time. Then, he nods. "It is quite impressive. Your presentation does it credit. You have an excellent eye, your grace."

"Ah, well, the Duke should get the credit for that one, your highness. All I did was unreasonably insist our stables become a gallery - he decided how. But with everything else I insisted on, raising the roof was likely the easy part," she grins the grin of a woman who knows she's difficult and doesn't care. "And, of course, the Viscount gifted me with it. I tried to return the sentiment by sending him art books, catalouges, whatever I could find from the places we traveled to, but it's not the same as actually being able to give something you created."

She sighs and stands, dusting herself off.

The prince arches an eyebrow while watching Juliana.

Then he smiles again. "Thank you, your grace. I am glad I saw this. You are a most generous hostess."

"It's nothing, your highness. Any chance I can get to visit the horses." Juliana walks back over and offers to let him descend first.

Brand smiles and climbs down the ladder. As juliana descends, he offers her his hand to help her step down.

The prince looks up at the painting once more. He turns his attention back to Juliana and she can feel the intelligence and passion and power behind his gaze. "You have aroused my curiosity, your grace," he says then. "Seeing this, I wonder what other interesting art treasures are hidden here."

Juliana smiles. "You think it's that good? He'd be honored you thought so. Most of the best pieces are at Carlisle. The humidity fluctuates too much in the city to risk some of them. And then there is the little problem of wresting the works we sent home from our travels from the Duchess. There are some sculptures in the west side of the garden though you might find interesting. They're Nancines."

"I shall have to look at those before I depart," Brand agrees.

As they walk, Juliana can almost feel a sense of melancholy come over the prince. "It is a pity," he says more to himself than to her, "that none of Rhys' work appears to have survived."

Juliana narrows her eyes and thinks, but cannot make the connection. "Who was Rhys? Did he paint?"

The corners of Brand's mouth downturn slightly. Its too subtle a motion to be considered a frown by most people who even noticed it.

"Rhys was a young noble who was lost, as were so many other brave young men, during the war with the Moonriders out of Ghenesh. I am told that among his hobbies, he dabbled in painting. Unfortunately, I never saw any of his paintings. He kept them, as with so many things in his life, to himself."

"Do you think we might have some? Was he known to the Carlisles?" she asks.

The prince pauses. "He was said to be, yes."

Juliana stops walking to really look at Brand a moment. What she says while she's doing this is, "You should talk to Patrice. She is by far the expert on all things art and I'm sure if we have any of his work she'd know."

An odd expression passes swiftly across Brand's features. On an ordinary man, it might be thought to be a look of discomfort or embarrassment. But Brand is a prince of Amber.

"I do not think that would be wise," Brand says at last. "I fear I have been perhaps too indelicate already."

"No, don't be silly. I'll take you out myself, if you'd like. We'll call it a hunt, and we'll just happen to amuse ourselves with looking through the art in storage. What do you think?" she smiles.

"You are too kind, your grace.'"

"So we will hunt?" she grins. "It shall have to be after Carnival, sometime. I'll send up an invitation once I see how things will fall out after the Southside Party."

"I shall anticipate its arrival, your grace," the prince smiles.

Juliana smiles, and with that, leads his highness back to the gardens.

-- Main.LizTrumitch - 05 Jan 2005