... for her ART's sake Ch. 01-02

I wisely decided against continuing that line of argument, instead saying that in my case the painting I had bought never failed to delight me, in every way - which immediately brought a twinkle to her previously momentarily narrowed eyes.

'Well of course I'm glad to hear that - as I recall it, the fellow who posed for me was a particularly good subject.'

During the time that we had been talking, I couldn't fail to notice that she was eyeing me - or at least my face - rather intently, so in one way I was not taken by as much surprise as I might otherwise could have been, when, after a few moments' pause, she continued.

'And you might be too! Have you ever sat for anybody?'

'As a model? No.'

'Well you do have an interesting face - it's what I call 'lived-in' - and it would be an interesting one to draw. Something of a challenge I think.' she added in a more thoughtful tone.

'Lived-in - well I don't think my looks have ever been described like that before.'

Annabel chuckled. 'Oh I didn't mean that disparagingly - far from it, you're a very handsome man. It's just that your face has accumulated a few lines here and there, and the expression in your eyes is one that I like to term 'far-seeing' - as though even when you are concentrating on what's before you, you are also 'seeing' something in either the distance or the future. It's a most attractive look - well to me it is.'

In a few well chosen words she had turned what might have been considered a quite unfavourable comment, into one of subtle flattery. And I have to admit that it was extremely effective.

'Well if you would really like to have a go at it, I'd be quite prepared to sit for you, some time.' I said.

'Oh, excellent! That's really very generous of you Phillip, I suppose you'd only be free of either an evening, or perhaps sometime at the week-end.'

'I'm afraid so, unlike a few of the others here, I do have a living to make.'

'Well why don't we leave it that you'll ring me when you have some free time coming up, then see if we can mesh our two busy schedules together some time.'

And, after a few more relatively unimportant remarks, that was indeed where we left it.

To be continued -

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