The Sweetheart of M. Briseux

This novel tells the story of a woman who is the subject of an impressive work, "The Lady with a Yellow Shawl," by the best-known local artist Briseux. This work is acquired by a gallery. The narrator sees a woman in the gallery looking at the picture very intently and suspects her to be the original subject of the portrait. Mrs. Staines has a handsome but shiftless son Harold, who decides to become an artist. They move on to Paris, where Harold makes copies in the Louvre, The woman delays the marriage but then challenges him to paint her portrait, after which she promises to settle a date. Harold struggles with the portrait, and one day whilst he is absent from his studio during a sitting, the young painter Briseux appears and denounces the painting as rubbish. She offers to give him money, but instead, he finishes off the portrait. Briseux exhibits the picture at the Paris salon and it is deemed a masterpiece that establishes his reputation. Will the lady settle a marriage date with Harold?