Page 60 of Marked By Moonlight

Four blue horses stood in a tight stack, swishing their tails. They all gazed left over a row of mountains and to the real view outside the window.

“What is it?” Bene asked.

To my surprise, Roux beat me to it. “Franz Marc.The Tower of Blue Horses.”

Wow. Either he knew his art, or he’d been talking to Marius. I certainly hadn’t mentioned it.

Bene shook his head. “Nah. This one’s by Mina.” He peeked at the original in my father’s art book, then nodded firmly. “And it’s way better than that one.”

Not by a long shot, but I appreciated the sentiment.

Bene set his plate aside and leafed through a few pages of the book, then tilted it toward Roux. “Oh, look. A tiger.” Then hecontinued through the pages, murmuring as he went. “Horse…horse…mule…monkey… Boy, this guy really liked animals.”

Roux held out the plate he’d brought for me, and I grabbed a sandwich.

“More horses…” Bene continued. “A dog…a deer…” He reached the end of the book and looked up in disappointment. “Not a single lion?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think he painted any.”

Bene shook his head in disbelief. “The man paints every animal on Noah’s Ark but skips the king of the jungle?”

I decided not to comment.

He continued looking through the book, then tapped on a photo. “Most of these paintings are upbeat, but this one is a little scary.”

I looked atThe Wolves. “Franz Marc painted it on the eve of World War I.”

Roux’s eyes took on a distant look, and I wondered what combat zone — or zones — he’d served in before leaving the military.

“Well, I like yours better.” Bene thumped the book down.

“Me too,” Roux murmured.

“Oh! You could do the whole room.” Bene lit up, delighted with his own idea. “Monkey over there. Deer over there. And a big lion, right there.” He gestured to the most prominent wall in the room.

“What about a tiger?” Roux protested.

Bene shrugged. “Maybe over by the closet.”

I hid a laugh, then sobered, wondering how to paint a dragon in the style of Franz Marc, and whether I had the heart to try it.

“Seriously. You want to rent these rooms out, right?” Bene continued. “And since boring old châteaux are a dime a dozen—”

I nearly choked on my sandwich. Boring?

“—you need to stand out.” Bene waved around. “With an art theme, for instance.”

“Not a bad idea,” Roux admitted.

“It’s agreatidea,” Bene declared. “We could have a Frank Marc room…”

“Franz,” I corrected.

“Whatever.” Bene breezed on. “A water lily room by whatshisname…”

“Monet,” I murmured.

“A Van Gogh room,” Roux chimed in. “Didn’t he paint his bedroom in Arles? You could decorate in the same style.”