He walked to one of the bushes and cupped a large bloom in his hand. The rose was a brilliant, true purple.
Forget sketching, the rose garden deserved painting, and again he cursed the need to leave everything behind when he fled. It had pained him to do so, but it would have been far too difficult to bring his supplies. He consoled himself again that he could buy new. Soon, he would buy new. And then he would paint the garden, even though he would have to do it from memory by then.
He stroked a finger over the velvety petals of the rose. How would he even mix such a vivid, saturated hue? He’d thought that a lot since he arrived in Tournai. But the colors were so much more intense in Tournai than they were at home. Everything was more intense.
Everything was more uncertain than he’d expected it to be.