A Brush with Blood
by
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Danton frowned as he studied the artist intently. “Are you telling me that this one can’t sit still at all?”
Alexandre was a better actor than even he himself knew. He grinned devilishly: “Oh, no! I dare say she could do it tolerably well but I have no wish to ask her, you see? I would rather she did not, you understand? I would prefer her to do other things for me.”
“Such as?” bullied Danton.
Alexandre grinned at him with one of his evil squint-eyed looks: “Well, you know, Citizen! Maybe wriggle a little. Possibly bob up and down a bit. And, oh yes, groan. I would really like her to groan a lot.”
Danton burst out in hysterical laughter. He bellowed loudly: “You don’t want her on your canvas you want her on your lap!”
Alexandre acknowledged the fact with a saucy bow of his head. “Despite her years, I do know her to be a virgin, Citizen!”
“You dog! Then maybe I should best have her myself, eh?” screamed Danton in sudden good humour.
Alexandre gave an artificial smile but one which was effective enough. He said: “I imagine that the great Citizen Danton should have no problem having many such young ladies but, with respect, sir, I am merely a poor painter who isn’t often subjected to such urges.”
“And you want her before anybody else does, eh?” laughed his patron.
“I blush to admit that it would be very pleasant. And I do believe that the young lady in question has already intimated to me that she is perfectly willing.”
Thérèse felt as though she was going to be sick but nothing came up. She wobbled slightly and had to steady herself against Beth.
Danton replied: “I should hope so too in her position. And I suppose because you’ve already had one sister you now want the other one, eh? Alright, you dog, I reckon I owe you that much. I think this one will probably give you a more spirited ride than you get from Beth but good luck. Only mark my words, Lemierre, I don’t like being cheated. The moment you’ve plucked her cherry, you’ll owe me a free painting of her, okay? No fans or feathers or tricks, mind, I want her completely in the buff and showing me everything. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” smiled Alexandre. “You honour me with your indulgence.”
Thérèse leaned against her sister as if to faint.
“Fine,” said Danton. “And don’t you forget it, my man. So who are you going to use instead?”
Alexandre turned back to look at the gathering of his tenants and friends. Now, more than ever, he knew that he needed to be particularly careful. He had been extremely lucky with Danton up until this point but recognised him as not the sort of person one could push too far. Any suggestion of using Fluffy or any of the other females already known to him was totally out of the question: Danton would have backtracked and rejected them out of hand. There only seemed to be one possible candidate and yet he was already filled with remorse before even naming her.
“May I suggest the young lady at the back,” he said.
There was no need to offer Danton any other information in order to point her out: Alexandre had already noticed his patron’s lecherous looks at the girl even before the arrival of Beth and Tess.
“Has she sat for you before?” the man asked suspiciously.
“Once or twice,” answered Alexandre honestly. “But nobody has seen the pictures yet.”
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About the Book
A thought-provoking and erotic novel set during a five year period of the French Revolution.
It tells the story of Alexandre Lemierre, an artist and political satirist who worked for such infamous men as Desmoulins, Danton and Robespierre, the instigators and leaders of the ‘Reign of Terror’.
He was one of the ‘spin-doctors’ of his day whose images weren’t only pornographic in the literal sense but helped incite people to acts of horrific brutality.
Nevertheless, in this book, all his loves are laid bare along with his many doubts and fears. It endeavours to show through his relationship with four sisters how even those of a sensitive and humane disposition can become instrumental in promoting events which would otherwise be repugnant to them.
About the Author
As a visual artist himself, the author’s inspiration grew as much out of personal interest in his predecessors as it did from any particular wish to become a writer.
After being trained at St. Martin’s School of Art, London, at the start of the 1960s, his career blossomed as a costume designer for such auspicious employers as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company and then later for the BBC at Television Centre. For the former he was involved in the original production of the ‘Marat/Sade’ staged at the Aldwych Theatre, London, and starring a young Glenda Jackson; for the latter he worked on numerous television programmes including the initial ‘Doctor Who’ series (in black & white) and ‘Top of the Pops’ (one of the first TV shows to be transmitted in colour).
Combining that experience with a naturally vivid imagination, it was a foregone conclusion that many of his later years prior to retirement would be spent ‘spinning’ the public image of individuals and companies through the media. In essence, he once did much the same job as that of the main character in the book, albeit nearly two centuries later.
This current work came about as a consequence of the author’s private exploration into the different moral attitudes which were prevalent in the 18th century as opposed to now. Having extensively researched contemporary documents of that period, he sought to discover how anybody could have possibly justified their part in the creation of pornographic imagery as a means of promoting serious political aims. Our modern newspapers are no strangers to the influence of satire and topical cartoons, and sometimes use both to great effect, but none would dare commission and publish the sort of obscene misrepresentations which were circulated in Paris during the horrific days of the French Revolution.