Unpardonable Sins

Unpardonable Sins © 2009 by SheaRyhai

Family Breakfast

Candle light flicker across the still damp canvas. Valentina’s lips moved into a joyous smile at the end result of her late night work. Heedless of the smudges of blue pain beneath her dancing eyes and disheveled hair, she giggled quietly against the sleeve of her art smock.

In the corner of the room her maid, Julia, stirred from her uncomfortable perch on the chair. Startling awake with a jerk, Julia groaned rubbing her neck.

“I told you not to let me fall asleep, Tina,” Julia rebuked groggily.

“I’ve finished it!” Valentina called back joyously, sinking into a chair two feet back from the canvas to survey her work. “Just in time too.”

Stretching, Julia wandered over, her cranky expression easing into a smile as she studied Valentina’s latest creation. A black stallion, half-rearing into the sky, its black main tussled in the unseen wind, under a full moon.

“This is why you had to paint it at night?” Julia croaked, eyeing the piece in admiration.

“How else would I capture the feel?” Valentina murmured back dreamily.

Glancing at the seventeen year old, Julia chuckled to see the girl’s eyes closed, shoulders drooped in weariness. Her gaze quickly dropped to the candle, half dangling from Valentina’s fingers.

“Be careful dear,” Julia scooped the instrument away quickly. “There, there, best get you to bed. If the Missus finds out I’ve let you stay up all night again-”

“Do you think he will like it?” Valentina asked, accepting the maids assistance towards the Victorian Queen bed, its blankets already folded back.

Tucking the child in, Julia set about collecting up thr paint brushes she would have to wash out, and closed the lids on each paint tub before storing them in Valentina’s art box. When all evidence of their nightly excursion were neatly put away, Julia paused once more to study the painting. Valentina’s best work often came with sporadic inspiration, but this piece certainly seemed to have paid off. She was confident Franklin would enjoy it.

Once the candles Valentina had lit around the room to help her paint by, had been blown out; Julia made her way to the door with a bundle paint brushes, determined to clean them quickly so she could grab a few more hours of sleep.

Morning sun-light teased against Valentina’s eyelids through the still open window drapery. Eye brows squinted as the girl turned over and dragged the quilt up over her face. For a few moments the covers remained still; until, like a jack-in-the-box, Valentina shot up, eyes widening. Throwing the quilt and sheet out of her way, she staggered out of the bed towards the painting in her white silk nightgown.

Toes squirmed against the carpet floor as she surveyed the painting critically. With the morning light the colors all seemed to have changed. A frown of worry creased her pretty forehead, and she stepped back into the chair. Sinking into it’s cushion, Valentina buried her face in her hands with a dejected sigh.

A knock at the door proceeded the entrance of her mother. Lady Karolina Kingsley, swept into the room with a worried look.

“Child, why are you still not dressed? Are you ill?” The woman asked, her skirt rustling across the carpet as she hurriedly pressed her hand against Valentina’s forehead. “Well, you certainly don’t appear to have a fever, what ever-”

It took one look at Valentina’s woeful expression, and the paint smug still dried to her cheek for Karolina to realize.

“You foolish girl. Why must you insist on painting at night?” Karolina pulled her youngest into a quick hug, smiling despite the sternness of her tone. Kissing Valentina’s wild mane of dark brown hair that matched her own, she drew back. “I’ll see to it Julia is up here to dress you quickly. In the mean time, wash your face good and proper. Katharina wrote to say she’ll be joining us for breakfast today.”

“She’s come to see Franklin off too?” Valentina asked sadly, chin dropping to her chest.

“Dear please don’t make that face, you’ll get wrinkles. And Franklin is heading off to medical school, you should be proud of him, so no tears. Goodness knows he would probably stay if you started crying,” Karolina warned before pulling Valentina into another hug. “We shall all miss him, but he won’t be gone forever you know.”

A timid knock announced Julia’s presence at the door, with a pitcher of water, towel, and dark circles under her eyes.

“Morning, Lady Kingsly,” Julia greeted, her gaze hurriedly dropping to the floor.

“See to it she’s cleaned up and presentable for guest,” Karolina ordered sternly on her way to the door. She paused spotting the painting still propped by the window. A smile tugged at her lips, and she nodded her approval of the piece before leaving the room.

“She’ll tan me for sure later,” Julia grieved despairingly. “Now then, let’s get you ready. Don’t need you looking a fright when you say goodbye to Master Franklin today.”

Valentina nodded, following Juila to the night stand to wash her face.

Cousin Taliah was waiting in the morning room below. Her light brown hair cropped short around her neck, gave her an appearance of maturity that did not suit the two years she had on Valentina. Murmuring the faintest of greetings over the book cover, she flicked a glance in Valentina’s direction . She looked up again, noticing the blanket covered canvas Valentina carried over to the wall by her chair.

“You finish that last night?” Taliah asked with some interest. She knew of her cousin’s peculiar habit of painting at night, but had also seen the many successful pieces that came of it. “Can I see?”

“It’s not - I don’t-” Valentina sighed.

“You always think they look terrible in daylight,” Taliah scoffed, sinking back into her book. Karolina swept into the room and glanced Valentina over with a nod of approval. Behind her followed a black haired beauty in a fashionable morning dress of satin blue.

“Kath,” Valentina greeted happily, bounding across the room to embrace her older sister. Taliah looked up, and the book quickly. Rising to greet the elder Kingsley daughter, she was more careful to follow proper decorum.

“Good to see you both,” Katherina smiled, hugging Valentina warmly. “I know I’ve only been gone a week, but I swear it feels like years.” Taliah and Valentina glanced worriedly over at Mrs. Kingsley, who pursed her lips, examining the table cloth critically. Pulling gently from Valentina, Katherina touched the interlaced braids Julia had woven in her sister’s hair. “Julia has done another excellent job. But when are you going to let her cut her hair more appropriately for her age, Mother?”

“I’ve mentioned it a few times, but our little artist still refuses to let me cut off more than an inch for trimming,” Karolina sighed with a small shrug.

“That’s because she looks more exotic with long hair,” Franklin commented from the door way. The ladies of Kingsley Hall all turned to greet him with warm smiles, but he greeted his elder sister first with a kiss on her cheek. “Kathy, its good to see you again.”

“I’m so proud and happy for you Franklin,” Katherina murmured, kissing his cheek in return.

“We all are.” Karolina accepted a kiss from Franklin as well, patting her son’s cheek affectionately. Like his mother and younger sister, Franklin shared the same wavy brown hair, but he had Karolina’s deep blue eyes, that Katherina also shared.

Taliah surveyed the warm family moment from her seat at the table with no comment. Valentina decided to join her, absently tilting her empty glass cup, watching the prisms of light if gave off.

“And why aren’t you kissing your beloved brother goodbye?” Taliah scoffed, eyeing Valentina in amusement.

“He’s not leaving right away,” Valentina quickly whispered back.

“The footman have already brought round the car to load his bags, he’ll leave after breakfast I expect. Something about visiting a friend in Gilmer before he goes to his college dorm,” Taliah informed her knowingly.

Valentina’s eyes widened. Her cousin spent an awful lot of time around the servants, and thus knew nearly everything that happened in the house even before Mrs. Kingsley did. Raising her gaze slightly, she found Franklin was watching her with patient eyes.

“I heard you were up all night painting something for me?” Franklin raised an eyebrow over a playful smile. Valentina lowered her eyes and nodded. “Want to show before we sit down to eat?” Franklin pressed gently. With a small sigh, Valentina slipped off her chair and picked up the canvas from by the wall. Walking over to her brother, she offered it to him hesitantly.

“It didn’t turn out - quite right,” she admitted sheepishly. Franklin smiled, taking the blanket wrapped gift carefully. He passed it to Katherina, and pulled Valentina into a hug.

“You are the only one who ever thinks that, Tina,” he assured her, lifting her off her feet in a bear hug. Valentina hugged him back fiercely. Reluctantly, she unlocked her arms from around his neck when he put her back on her feet. Smiling, despite the tears glistening in her eyes, she waited for him to unwrap the painting. Taliah tiptoed over quickly for a look.

“Ohh,” Katherina and Taliah murmured appreciatively.

“It’s lovely, I shall hang it up in my dorm and brag about you constantly,” Franklin grinned, eyes roaming the painting in admiration.

The tenseness in her shoulders eased, and Valentina allowed a relaxed grin to replace her worried frown. All that mattered was Franklin’s approval.

“Let’s sit down and enjoy breakfast,” Karolina instructed, smiling pleasantly at her children. “Franklin has an early train to catch, and Katherina needs me to join her to look at wedding dresses.”

“How go the wedding plans?” Franklin asked as they took their seat around the table. He took his next to Valentina, playfully rubbing her ear where a small paint smug remained. She grinned happily under his attention, as the butler and maids entered baring plates of warm biscuits, strawberry jam, cooked sausage, and brown-sugar-cinnamon porridge.