Page 108 of All I Want for Christmas

‘...What about the hairstyle?’

‘Lotte Madsen’s diaries tell us Lilja wore hers in a braid. It was distinctive for its lack of refinement for a married woman and indicative of her inability to function beyond a subsistence level while she was unwell.’

Margit sighed. ‘I see. Anything else?’

‘Yes – the robin.’ She glanced at it again, as if checking her thoughts. ‘Lilja was left physically weakened by her son’s birth and she was severely depressed after his death. She was sent to convalesce at the Madsens’ country retreat in Hornbaek. Sea air and beach walks were her prescription, but it appears the garden became a real refuge for her. She took many photos of it while she was there.’

‘But why should the robin indicate this is Lilja?’

‘Because the robin is well known as the gardener’s friend. I believe it’s being used here as a motif to indicate the garden as her source of strength during recovery.’

Darcy watched as Otto and Margit swapped silent looks. She could feel Helle and Max listening intently.

‘I see. Thank you, Darcy.’ Margit’s face was pinched.

Darcy looked from her to Otto. She looked at Max, too; for once he appeared to have nothing to say.

She gave a small, astonished laugh, as no one appeared to be asking about the elephant in the room. ‘Um? So, are we going to address the main revelation, now that we can actually see the painting...?’

Everyone looked back at her, their expressions closed. Surely they couldn’t seriouslynotsee it?

‘This isn’t a Johan Trier painting!’ she said bluntly.

‘We don’t know that for sure,’ Helle said quickly.

‘Uh, we do,’ Darcy argued, looking at her in utter disbelief. ‘His figuring is completely different, not to mention his brushwork—’

‘He was well known for trying different styles.’

‘Heneverused smalt pigment and there are no other portraits by him done in an outdoor setting,’ Darcy continued, unabashed. She knew she was right. ‘Johan Trier did not paint this and it will take any reputable assessor all of three minutes to prove that.’ She looked around at everyone, not understanding their lack of consensus on what was clearly obvious.

‘Well, this is clearly a rolling situation,’ Helle said quietly. ‘It is good to have a confirmed subject, if not artist. We are pleased this is a portrait of Lilja Madsen, but clearly we all would have preferred this portrait to be by Trier’s hand.’ Helle’s gaze ran sceptically over Darcy’s reindeer antlers and tinsel-strapped chest, as if they somehow threw her professional opinion into doubt. ‘Your work to this point has been helpful, Miss Cotterell. Thank you.’

Darcy frowned at what sounded like a dismissal. ‘You’re not abandoning the research, are you?’ she asked Margit. ‘Whether or not it’s a Trier, that portrait is part ofHer Children’s legacy now. Visitors will still want to know about it. Unless...’She startled at the thought. ‘You’re not intending to cover it up again?’

‘Absolutely not. The announcements have been made.’

‘So, then, I’ll need to continue as before,’ she pressed. ‘We need to find out who painted it, if not Trier. How it ended up boarded to the back of this painting. Why was it put there?’They think now the portrait went in wet. ‘We need to give it the full art history treatment.’

‘We must be realistic. If this portrait is not Trier’s work, then public interest will be markedly less,’ Helle shrugged. ‘Margit can’t justify spending—’

‘That’s fine, Darcy,’ Margit interrupted. She looked furious. ‘Continue as you were. You’re working onourbehalf, after all. Not Madsen’s.’ Margit looked pointedly at Helle until the other woman turned away.

Darcy frowned, baffled by Helle’s newly dismissive attitude towards the portrait, as if it was inconsequential now. She looked again at it, for some reason loving it even more, even though – without Trier’s signature – it was almost inherently worthless. There was something alive in Lilja’s gaze; it captured Darcy and drew her in, as if Lilja’s whispers were trapped in the paint, a past still beating within this present.

‘I imagine the possibility of this portrait being the work of another artist will be a complication for your restitution claim?’ Margit said coolly to Max.

‘Possibly. We’ll take advice.’

He was being unnaturally quiet, Darcy thought, watching as he shook Margit’s hand, preparing to leave. He seemed in a hurry to get away.

Otto, beside her, turned towards the window and stood looking out into the dark courtyard with a troubled expression. Darcy went over to him.

‘Otto, will my expenses cover a research trip up to Hornbaek?’

He looked at her. ‘Why do you want to go there?’

‘I think I should visit. Solvtraeer was an important place to Lilja. She lived there for her last few years and she died there. I think it’s most likely where the portrait was painted. Obviously, Trier was based in the studio and paintingHer Childrenup there that summer, so there may still be a link between him and it. I do think it would be helpful to go there myself and I can be there and back in a day. I appreciate the house may no longer be standing...’

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