Phelan crossed his arms and looked from me to Julia to Alex and lastly Lisette, who sat on the rug with her arms around Bessie, who was thrilled to be doted upon. Once Julia returned from the beach with the children, he had called us into the cottage where he had several wooden boxes and an easel propped up against the wall.

"Uncle Phelan, why are you staring at us?" Alex asked.

"I'm thinking," Phelan answered.

"May I ask what you're thinking about?"

Phelan's gaze cut to Alex. "Who is the best artist in your family?" He glanced at me. "And music does not count as art in this instance."

I bristled at his words. "Indeed," I muttered.

"That would be Lisette," Alex replied without a moment's hesitation.

Much to Lisette's utter mortification, everyone turned to stare at her. She hugged Bessie tighter and stared at the floor. "I don't think that's true," she said meekly.

Phelan offered a smile. "You are a modest artist, I see, very much the opposite of your father and uncle. Lisette, if you would be of assistance, I could use your help setting up for our afternoon of painting. Would you like that?"

Lisette readily nodded. "What are we painting?"

"That will be a surprise. Now, if you would be so kind as to take these brushes and supplies outside."

Lisette held out her arms and accepted a long wooden box with a smattering of paint across the top and sides. Phelan placed several folded rags on top, all of which were frayed and stained with an array of colors.

"Alex," Phelan said, nodding at my son. "How strong are you?"

Alex immediately puffed out his chest. "Exceptionally."

To that Phelan grunted. "Then you carry the easel."

Alex could not have been more delighted by the task he had been assigned. He carefully moved Bessie off his lap and sprang to his feet, then dashed to my brother's side and awaited instruction.

"Are you going to teach us both how to paint?"

Phelan crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea how much I generally charge for lessons?"

Alex shook his head. "My grand-mere gave me ten francs to spend while we were on holiday. I have two left."

Phelan turned his head to the side. "As my favorite nephew, your first lesson is complimentary as long as you do not tell another soul that I am being so generous."

"You have my word," Alex promised.

Once Alex found the best way to balance the easel, he followed Lisette out the back door.

"Now you I would charge twice as much for my services," Phelan said to me before he walked out with two canvases and a tote of other supplies.

Julia entwined her arm with mine. "Alex is going to miss Phelan when he leaves. He's very fond of your brother."

I nodded. "They will see each other…" I sighed, realizing I had no answer. "At some point."

Julia offered a gentle smile. "Alex would be perfectly content writing letters. You know how much he enjoys walking with Meg to the post office."

"He does," I agreed. From an early age he could identify the blue lanterns that were synonymous with the postal system and Meg often returned home and praised Alex for dropping the letters into the corresponding letter-boxes designated for Paris and foreign mail. "But Alex won't have the same relationship with my brother that he has with Charles."

Julia leaned into me. "Perhaps next summer you could at least take Alex to visit Brussels. He would like that."

"And leave you alone with Lisette and possibly a new baby?"

"I'd hardly be alone," Julia pointed out.

"True enough." No one in our house was ever alone given the close proximity between our home and the Lowrys.

"And Lucia especially would be more than willing to stay with me and Lisette for a few weeks if needed. You know how much I want her to visit us and see how big Lissy has gotten. Other than Max, no one has seen her since she was three."

I inhaled and nodded. I had never understood Julia's relationship with her sisters and how much she missed seeing them, but over a matter of days I had bonded with Phelan and couldn't imagine years passing between visits. "A longer discussion for a different time."

"You should travel to see your brother," Julia said. "I know how important he is to you."

"There is no one more important in my life than you," I assured her.

Julia rose onto the tips of her toes and kissed me softly. "Then you must obey your wife."

I raised a brow. "Obey?"

She offered a close-lipped smile and wrinkled her nose. "It was part of our vows, husband."

"Of course it was," I dryly answered.

Julia and I started toward the back door when we heard the jingle of tack and rumble of a carriage and horses.

"Who could that be?" Julia asked.

I grabbed my mask and met Julia at the front door in time to see Archie step from the carriage with a folder in hand. He waved enthusiastically the moment he saw the two of us.

"Julie Dear," he said fondly. "And the incomparable composer himself."

"I didn't think you would still be in town,"Julia said.

"I'm not here," he said with a wink. "I'm on official business elsewhere, but I have the paperwork drawn up for the Rouen estate that I neglected to bring with me yesterday."

He handed me the folder, which I opened and thumbed through the contents until I reached the final page with the asking price. I squinted at the page, then at Archie. "You must have drawn this up in haste. You are missing a few numbers."

Archie smiled in return. "Not at all."

I closed the folder and cleared my throat. "How much would you want for the instruments?"

"Already included in the price."

The instruments alone were worth at least half of what he was asking for the estate. Skeptically I glanced at the paperwork a second time and assumed there was something else Archie desired outside of the Rouen property.

"What is the catch?" I asked.

"No catch. However, if you happen upon two tickets to the performances where you conduct this fall, I would be honored to see you in the orchestra pit," he answered. "And perhaps if you had extra box seats to your next opera…"

I attempted to remain impassive, but truthfully I was quite eager to have a summer home far from Paris where my brother could visit and my family would stay together. And while I sincerely doubted Archie needed my assistance obtaining theater tickets in Paris or any city across Europe, I agreed to the terms and shook his hand.

"Four tickets for the fall and box seats to the next season of performances," I offered. "I will see to it personally."

Archie nodded. "You are too kind, Monsieur Kire."

"I'll find a pen." I said.

True to his nature, Archie clapped.

OoO

By the time Archie left with the signed papers and Julia and I made our way outside, the sky had turned overcast with clouds and the air was cool and refreshing.

The humidity reminded me of the summer nights when I stole away to the shore alone and waded into the depths, half-naked and unafraid of what might have lurked beneath the water's rippling surface. There were nights when I stayed until the break of dawn and watched the sun rise, the light glinting off the water before I dashed off toward home, my heart racing at the thought of being caught out of the cellar. The price of my temporary freedom was high, but worth it. Even if I had stayed put, the punishment would have been no different.

"Erik?" Julia questioned when I came to an abrupt stop. "What is it?"

"Gratitude," I said as I met her eye and kissed her fingers, my previous thoughts thankfully fleeting. "For the life we share. Truly I do not know how I ever met someone as wonderful as you."

"You don't remember?" Julia grinned and turned her head to the side. "You were out for a walk and I accosted you."

"Yes, I do remember that night now that you mention it. I've never asked you before, but did you accost other unsuspecting individuals out for walks?"

Julia gasped in feigned surprise and swatted playfully at my arm. "I'll have you know I saved my accosting for only one man."

"An incredibly fortunate man," I added.

"And now I am here," Julia drew a circle on my chest around my heat.

"For as long as we both shall live," I murmured before I drew her closer, kissing her softly on the lips. Her cheeks flushed when she stepped back, her hazel eyes sparkling as she gazed up at my unmasked face with adoration that stole my breath. Her devotion was more than I deserved and truer than I expected to ever know, a greater love story than I could have composed for the theater.

"Papa! Mother!" Lisette called.

"We are wanted," Julia said as she tugged me toward the spot Phelan chose on the beach near the edge of the water.

Phelan was deep into a discussion on technique as we approached. Lisette politely listened to my brother's words while Alex stood with his arms crossed and appeared as though at any given moment he might die of boredom.

"Finally!" Alex exclaimed.

My brother rolled his eyes at my son. "Have I told you, Alex, that you are exactly like your father? Dramatic and impatient down to your bones, Nephew."

"Why so impatient, Alex?" Julia asked.

"Uncle Phelan said we couldn't start painting until you and Father came outside with us." Alex issued a significant look in my direction.

"I apologize. We had a matter at hand that needed to be addressed."

Alex tilted his head back and groaned. Quite frankly, I could not fathom how Phelan thought I was the least bit dramatic.

"What are you painting with your uncle, darling?" Julia asked.

"You and Papa," Lisette asked.

My breath caught. I looked from Lisette to Phelan, who was preoccupied with his paints and brushes and didn't seem to notice me staring at him.

I had removed my mask once Archie returned to his carriage, but I considered turning on my heel to retrieve it from the bedroom once more if I was to be the subject of artwork.

"How wonderful," Julia said cheerfully. I glanced at my wife, but she had her back to me and her arms around Lisette's shoulders. "But If I had known we were to be a part of your painting, I would have worn something nicer than this."

"You look beautiful," Alex assured her. "And besides, Uncle Phelan already sketched out the details. Lissy and I will be choosing the colors."

"With my approval," Phelan added. He looked up and squinted at Alex. "We cannot have your father green with purple eyes and your mother bright blue, can we?"

"But Bessie can be orange," Alex said.

"Overruled, Nephew," Phelan said.

I stepped toward my brother and waited impatiently for him to acknowledge me. When he did no such thing, I sighed heavily.

"Precisely like Alex," Phelan said under his breath. At last he looked at me. "I suppose you have a grievance."

"Not yet," I said.

Phelan reached for the canvas propped up against the easel and placed it on display. "For your consideration," he said.

I stared at the canvas and the depiction of me on the right and Julia on the left, the two of us in profile with Alex and Lisette facing forward and Bessie between them. For a long moment I studied the canvas. There was no indication of a mask or my unmasked face bearing scars; it was simply the acceptable half of my visage. In truth I appeared ordinary, no different than anyone else.

My stomach still tightened. "I see."

"There is a finished one down there," Phelan said, nodding toward the two other canvases resting against the leg of the easel.

"Finished?" I questioned.

Phelan sorted his paints and brushes first before he replied. It was truly impressive how he could ignore me completely before he was ready to reply.

"I painted one myself and decided to give Lisette and Alex the opportunity to add their own personalized touches," he said as he reached down and handed me a completed portrait with barely sparing me a glance.

"This is…"

I had never considered having my likeness committed to any type of medium. I wanted to be known for my music, not my appearance, but now that my artist brother had painted a portrait of me with my wife and children, I could not look away.

Julia's expression was familiar, a smile I had seen hundreds of times directed at me. It was a look of adoration, and with her hand on Lisette's shoulder and mine on Alex's, we gazed at one another with affection that had come through with each stroke of the paint brush. Alex and Lisette both smiled; Alex with his wide grin and Lisette her typical close-lip smile with dimples that matched her mother's.

And then there was Bessie looking baleful as always with her drooping eyes, wrinkled forehead, and long ears. She was as perfectly depicted as the rest of us and situated in the middle, which seemed somewhat fitting.

"I cannot tell if you like it or hate it," Phelan said. He had turned his attention to me while I stood distracted, consumed by a family portrait I had never imagined. "I suppose it isn't quite gallery worthy, but-"

"It's very good," I interrupted.

"Very good?" Phelan narrowed his eyes. "Truly, Kire, I am accustomed to hearing my work praised as masterful, captivating, and thought-provoking. Very good seems like a false compliment an art instructor gives to a child who can barely draw a decent circle."

"I stand by my appraisal of your work," I said, which earned me a scowl. "How much do you want for it?"

"My work is priceless, however, in this case I don't require compensation. This painting is a gift to you."

"A gift? That is very generous."

Phelan scoffed. "Well, don't go around telling people such nonsense. I have a reputation to uphold, little brother."

Julia shook her head at Phelan. I handed her the painting and she grinned the moment it was in her possession. "This is magnificent."

Phelan nudged me in the side with his elbow. "Your wife knows how to praise an artist. You could learn from her."

"How long did this take you to complete?" Julia asked.

"An appropriate amount of time," Phelan answered. "Now if you will excuse me, our lesson is about to start and my nephew is on the verge of death due to impatience. Take a seat, Madame, and relax with your husband."

I pulled the lounge chairs closer to the easel and sat beside Julia. Bessie hopped up and situated herself on her back between us where she snored profusely while my brother transformed into an art instructor with Alex and Lisette as attentive students.

Phelan's posture changed as he handed both children paint brushes and showed them how to apply the paint to the canvas and clean the brushes. Alex naturally had a dozen questions and tugged on his uncle's sleeve in order to add his thoughts to whatever was being said or shown while Lisette readily nodded and watched with care.

Lisette still stood further from my brother than Alex, but she appeared more comfortable in his presence and laughed at whatever comments he made during their lesson. Every so often Lisette glanced back at us for reassurance before she followed my brother's instructions and took up a brush.

"I could not imagine a more perfect holiday," Julia said. She had kept the painting and continued to stare at the depiction of our family. "This has been wonderful, hasn't it?"

"I could not imagine spending a more perfect holiday than here with my wonderful wife and the mother to my children."

"Our three children," she said in my ear. "Possibly four."

I looked at her from the corner of my eye. "You are attempting to fill every room in our summer home, aren't you?"

"Not every room," Julia said. "We'll need a guest room for your brother and my sisters when they visit over the summer."

"And permanent rooms for Meg, Charles, their twins and Madeline, whom I assure you will be given the biggest, grandest room on the property, if not her own separate home attached to ours. In fact, I do believe Madeline Manor is in the lead for what we shall call our summer home."

"What's the runner up?"

I scratched the top of Bessie's head. "Unfortunately Bessie Manor doesn't have the same ring to it."

Julia chuckled. "I suppose not."

"Perhaps a marble statue in Bessie's honor," I suggested. "In the foyer."

Julia inhaled and gave me a sideways look. "Very tasteful."

We sat together in comfortable silence, Julia's fingers entwined with mine. Bessie sighed heavily and stretched out her back legs, black toes spread before she returned to a deep sleep in which she kicked and twitched in her canine dreams.

I thought again of the nights I had stolen away to the beach not far from where we relaxed, of the times I had screamed into the water, frustrated with the life I had no desire to live. I recalled the hopelessness I had felt, how I was absolutely certain there would never be a place for me in the world, nor anyone who would stand by my side. I dreaded the rising sun and another meaningless day of surviving alone and unwanted.

Not once in my life had I expected to be a cushion to an amiable hound or a father and husband, but in that moment I could not picture myself anywhere else.

I marveled at the sight of Julia's fingers laced with mine, at the sound of my children giggling while my brother steadied my son's hand and helped him paint. Lisette looked over her shoulder at us again, nose wrinkled as she smiled and awaited her turn. The breeze caught her hair and she tucked it behind her ears before Alex tapped her on the shoulder and handed her the pallet.

"Father!" Alex yelled. "What do you think so far? I painted your suit blue and mine green."

"You are doing an excellent job, Alexandre."

Alex grinned and stepped aside while Lisette took his place in front of the canvas and took her time selecting what color paint she would use for her own dress. Phelan touched up the work Alex had completed before he examined the painting and nodded in approval.

"You are a natural, favorite Nephew," Phelan praised.

Alex could not have been more pleased. He looked up at his uncle, soaking up every bit of affection, and I thought of my own uncle and the many times he had showered me with the same amount of adulation. As brief as our time had been together, the impression my Uncle Alak had made on me still resonated. In my son I saw his mother, but at last I saw a glimpse of myself when I had been content.

"Lisette, I have no doubt you will far exceed my expectations based solely on your selection of color."

"Do you like yellow?"

Phelan held up the zinc tube. The end had been curled inward with use, pushing the remaining paint toward the top of the tube. "You have selected my favorite color."

"Should I pick a different one so that you don't run out? The tube is almost empty." Lisette asked.

"I always purchase two so that I may use as much as I want."

With Phelan's help, Lisette selected a brush and dipped it into the yellow paint on the palette.

The sun peered out from behind the clouds, the dismal gray revealing a flawless blue sky and sunlight that shimmered along the ripples of water.

"Father, look!" Alex exclaimed. "I can see Dover! I can see Dover!"

Julia sat up and we both stood, with me taking great care not to disrupt Bessie. Alex grabbed us by the hand and tugged the two of us toward the shoreline for a better look.

"We can finally see it," Lisette said. She used my arm for balance and stood on the tips of her bare toes for a better look.

"Are the four of you staring at a cliff of rocks?" Phelan inquired.

"Yes!" Alex enthusiastically replied. "Come join us, Uncle Phelan!"

"As you wish, Nephew," Phelan replied.

My brother came up beside me and squinted. He placed his hand on my shoulder, and without a second thought, I did the same.

"Skyderhelm," he said without meeting my eye. "In six weeks. Will you agree to accompany me?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Julia look at me briefly and smile. Her fingers brushed against mine and I clasped her hand, accepting her unspoken approval to travel to Denmark and meet my grandparents.

"Yes," I said. "Yes, I will."

Phelan's grip tightened and he gave my shoulder a hearty shake. "Good. I'll have an itinerary sent to you as soon as I return home. I will meet you outside of Paris if you prefer not to travel the distance alone."

"Rouen," I suggested.

Phelan eyed me curiously. "What's in Rouen?"

"Our new summer home."

"Since when?" my brother asked incredulously.

I glanced at my pocket watch. "Since about thirty minutes ago. The documents have been signed and I imagine the deed in my hand shortly after we return home."

Phelan merely shook his head. "Very well then, Kire, I shall meet you in Rouen."

I nodded. "How many days do you intend to visit?"

"Two weeks, which often turns into three when I realize how much work needs to be done around the dairy," Phelan answered. "But if you can commit to a week, I guarantee Hilda will fatten you like a hog in those seven days."

"A week," I said. "Longer if my commitments to my family and the theater allow it."

"Your wife allows it," Julia said.

"I do believe that is all the consent you need, little brother." Phelan leaned back and smiled at Julia. "You'll take care of him in my absence? Keep him from trouble?"

Julia offered a sly smile in return. "Always."