Chapter Eighteen
AMSTERDAM, 1622
They had left Adela there in the end, after waiting as long as possible for Joris, hoping he would arrive with news of her release. Clara had found it hard to go but had done so quietly when Nico said it was time. Showing the extent of her distress would have done nothing but upset her sister further. So, she had smiled and kissed her, promising it would soon be over. What else could she have done?
There was nothing for it now but to work and wait again. Nico continued instructing Jakob in portraiture whilst Clara set Pieter to draw her table in charcoal to see if he could achieve a good result using only light and shade. These commonplace studio activities and Adela’s imprisonment seemed too incongruent to exist side by side in her life. Yet here they w
