The Very Picture of You (41 page)

Authors: Isabel Wolff

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BOOK: The Very Picture of You

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And now Nate is by my side. ‘I
did
know that,’ he says. He slides his arm round my waist. ‘I knew it from the start.’

As Nate pulls me to him, I recall the night of the wedding. We’d kept our distance, but when everyone
else had drifted away, he’d come to find me. I was sitting on the bench by the horse chestnut tree.

He’d sat down next to me and had taken my hand. Then he’d just held it in both of his. ‘It’s nice to be able to do this,’ he’d said quietly. ‘I’ve wanted to for so long.’

‘But then why…’ I’d heaved a sigh. ‘
Why
did you…?’

‘Go ahead with the wedding?’ I’d nodded. ‘Because…’ He’d heaved a painful sigh. ‘Because I didn’t know what you felt for
me
. And because I thought that Chloë was committed to marrying me and I believed that to have pulled out would have destroyed her; plus the wheels of the wedding were turning
so
fast – the thing was like this… juggernaut, powering on.’

‘Thanks to Mum,’ I said balefully.

‘Yes.’

‘Well… she wanted fireworks,’ I said. ‘And she got them. But did you really feel that Chloë was in
love
with you?’

Nate inhaled. ‘She seemed… glad to be with me. There were two or three weeks when she became a bit remote – now I know why; but then she was suddenly full on with the wedding again, really involved with all the arrangements, constantly telling me how wonderful everything was and how happy we were going to be. But now I know that she was just trying to convince herself.’

‘Were you in love with her?’

‘I really liked her,’ he said carefully. ‘I was… charmed by her. But we’d got engaged in such a rush – almost by accident; I panicked at first, but then told myself that I was thirty-six years old – why
not
get married? So I convinced myself that I could be happy
with Chloë. But then I got to know you. And I fell in love with you, Ella. I was in agonies, not knowing what to do, and not being able to tell you how I felt because it would make me look so bad. But you must have realised how I felt.’

‘I… did.’

‘But you gave me no indication.’

‘How could I? You were marrying my sister! I wasn’t going to wreck her happiness – or publicly humiliate her. And I wasn’t going to risk her having another breakdown like she’d had over Max. Added to which, you and I had spent so little
time
together Nate. Less than a day.’

Nate turned to me. ‘Well we’ve got all the time we need now.’ So we sat side by side, under the tree, just looking at each other. Nate smiled. ‘What are you doing? Counting my eyelashes?’

‘No. I already know how many you’ve got. One hundred and sixty-two on the upper lid…’

‘Really?’

‘And seventy-four on the lower – but don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal.’

‘Good. You had me worried there.’

We were still gazing at each other. ‘I can see myself,’ I said.

‘Your face in my eye…’ he murmured.

‘Thine in mine appears.’

Nate touched his lips against mine. I felt my insides dissolve. ‘You kiss with your eyes open,’ he said.

‘That’s because I don’t want to stop looking at you. I love looking at you, Nate.’ His lips touched mine again, his hands cradled my face.

In the gallery Nate greets his friends. ‘Honey!’ he exclaims softly. ‘Kay. James. Good to see you all.’

I slide my arm around him. ‘You’re here,’ I murmur happily.

‘Of course I’m here.’ Nate kisses me. ‘Happy birthday, sweetheart.’

‘We were just talking about your portrait,’ Kay says. She looks at Nate, then at his painting. ‘It’s the very picture of you.’

Honey tilts her head as she studies it. ‘It is. You’ve really…
captured
him, Ella.’

Nate kisses me again. ‘She has.’

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The Very Picture of You
is a work of fiction, but I wish to acknowledge that the inspiration for the story of Guy Lennox was reading about the sale at auction of a picture by the portraitist, Sir Herbert Gunn. Called ‘Design for a Group Portrait’, it was painted in 1929, and was of Sir Herbert’s three children, from whom, following his divorce, he had been estranged. The story of Grace Clarke was in part inspired by the tragic death of Eilidh Jake Caims, who was knocked off her bike at Notting Hill Gate in February 2009. Every day I use the pedestrian crossing close to the spot where she died, and was moved by the many touching tributes to her that were placed there. I also wish to acknowledge that I have taken one or two liberties with the history of the Northern Ballet Theatre, whose production of
Giselle
was in 1978, not 1979.

The following books were a useful resource during the research and writing of the book:

Northern Ballet Theatre: 40 Years in the Making:
published by Biskit Ltd.

Portraiture: Facing the Subject
edited by Joanna Woodall, published by Manchester University Press,

Portraiture
by Richard Brilliant, published by Reaktion Books

Painting People
by Charlotte Mullins, published by Thames and Hudson.

A Face to the World
by Laura Cumming, published by HarperPress

Changing Face: Contemporary Portraiture
by Peter Monkman, published by Watts Gallery.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’m indebted to the portrait painters Jonathan Yeo, June Mendoza, Nick Offer, Fanny Rush, Paul Benney and Michael Noakes, who kindly shared with me their insights into the art of portraiture. Any inaccuracies are entirely my own. I’d also like to thank Rodney Baldwin, of the art supplies shop, Green & Stone, and Amanda Wright for giving me the low-down on life as a hand and foot model. At HarperCollins I’m very grateful to my wonderful editor, Sarah Ritherdon, and to Lynne Drew, Hana Osman, Victoria Hughes-Williams, Liz Lambert, Laura Fletcher, Laura Mell, Charlotte Abrams-Simpson, Oliver Malcolm and Lisa Doyle. For her hawk-eyed copy-editing, huge thanks to Anne O’Brien. I’d also like to thank Rachel Hore, Louise Clairmonte and Ellie Howarth, who read the manuscript and encouraged me along the way. I’m indebted, as ever, to my brilliant agents, Clare Conville and Jake Smith-Bosanquet, and to everyone at Conville and Walsh. Jodie Terry kindly corrected my Australian, Shani Blich my Italian. Finally, I’d like to
thank my family, who were endlessly supportive and tolerant during the writing process. So huge gratitude and love, as ever, to Greg, to our children Alice and Edmund, and to my stepsons, Freddie and George.

About the Author

Isabel Wolff was born in Warwickshire and read English at Cambridge. She is the author of eight other bestselling novels, which are published in 28 languages. She lives in London with her family.

For more information on Isabel Wolff, visit her website: www.isabelwolff.com

Praise
for Isabel Wolff:

‘She’ll make you laugh out loud and tug your heartstrings.’

Hello!

‘Feel-good, gritty and full of surprises.’

Cosmopolitan

‘A touching, compulsive read. Love it!’

Heat

‘Charming, funny and unpredictable.’

Company

‘You won’t be able to put this romantic comedy down!’

Closer

‘Pure feel-good escapism. Perfect.’

Sophie Kinsella

‘Far more depth and sensitivity than you might anticipate… an absolute delight. Warm and wittily perceptive about human foibles.’

Kirkus UK Reviews

‘An engaging read and an intriguing page-turner.’

Sainsbury’s Magazine

‘It’s effervescent and heart-warming and somehow the pages just turn themselves.’

Big Issue

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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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THE VERY PICTURE OF YOU
. Copyright © Isabel Wolff 2011. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Tears In Heaven
Words and Music by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings Copyright © 1992 by E.C. Music Ltd. and Blue Sky Rider Songs All Rights for E.C. Music Ltd. Administered by Unichappell Music Inc. All Rights for Blue Sky Rider Songs Administered by Irving Music, Inc. International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation

Tears In Heaven
Words & Music by Eric Clapton & Will Jennings © Copyright, 1991 E.C. Music Limited (87.5%)/Blue Sky Rider Songs Rondor Music (London) Limited (12.5%) All rights in Germany administered by Rondor Musikverlag GmbH. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by permission of Music Sales Limited.

Isabel Wolff asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-00-724584-0

EPub Edition © JULY 2011 ISBN: 978-0-00-743284-4

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