Free The Woman Who Heard Color by Kelly Jones Page A

other students. Jawlensky had had a career in the military; Kandinsky was educated as a lawyer in Russia, and both were now embarking on new careers as artists.
    “A concept explored by the Greeks,” Kandinsky replied in response to Jawlensky’s comment, “as well as more modern musicians such as Beethoven and Schubert. This blending of the senses.” He went on to speak of an opera he had attended in Moscow where he had heard the colors along with the music, how he had experienced similar sensations, a mixing of sound and color during his childhood, opening a paint box to discover a symphony. “But, alas, I must now complete my drawings and paintings without the colors.” He shot a glance toward his instructor, Herr von Stuck.
    Though Hanna was eager to hear more, the conversation went no further that day after several of the younger students requested silence in the studio for concentration.
    “You might hear the color, Herr Kandinsky,” one of them politely joked, “but others require silence for their creativity.”
     
     
    She continued thusly, tending to Frau Fleischmann, practicing her music to the delight of her mistress. Hoping each day to have a small conversation with Herr Fleischmann about art, rushing off with a true sense of excitement to the Academy three afternoons a week.
    One might think that Käthe would be jealous of Hanna, becoming Frau Fleischmann’s little lapdog, as she’d overheard Freda whispering to herself one morning as she gathered the laundry. But Käthe was consumed with what was going on in her own life. They would both go home for Christmas, something Hanna was looking forward to and dreading at the same time, as she had not yet written to her father, and neither of them had made any apologies. But she knew Käthe would not return to Munich with her. Hans Koebler was to ask for Käthe’s hand in marriage on Christmas Eve. So, Käthe felt no jealousy and was quite delighted that, when she left, Hanna would be in such a favorable position.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Hanna
    Munich
December 1900
     
    “You should have seen her dress,” Hanna told Josef, the clerk at the Academy. She had just tucked her pay into her pocket and, as she often did now, she lingered for a short time to visit. “Blue silk, so obviously expensive.”
    “The jewels,” he came back, urgency coupled with curiosity in his voice. “Her husband’s a jeweler in Berlin, so there must be jewels.”
    “Covered with them,” Hanna replied with a laugh.
    Strangely, Josef Bloch and Hanna had become friends. They frequently visited as she came in and out of the studio. He was a sweet man, rather flamboyant in his dress, but he had a way of making Hanna feel comfortable, and he loved to chat.
    “Oh, yes, her neck was covered with diamonds set in gold, accented with sapphires to match the color of her dress. Enormous diamonds hung from her ears, and a tiara glistened on her head set amidst her dark curls.” This woman does not dress herself for the evening, Hanna had thought when she peeked into the music room, observing the guests; she decorates herself like a Christmas tree. She giggled now at the image. “She looks much like her father, with dark hair and eyes. Now, this is very strange”—Hanna could feel her voice, as well as Josef’s interest, rise—“her name is the same as her stepmother, who incidentally isn’t much older than the daughter, and much more beautiful with her golden colors. They are both named Helene! They call the daughter Young Helene.”
    “How awkward,” Josef replied. “The two Helenes—Frau Fleischmann, the wife; Frau Kaufmann, the daughter—did they get on?”
    “I sensed the party was intended to keep her stepdaughter occupied, to ensure Frau Fleischmann did not have to spend a long evening conversing with the Young Helene.” Frau Fleischmann had stayed at the party much later than Hanna thought she should, considering her health. But she could see she had done this for Herr