The Princess Aline

Morton “Morney” Carlton is a young New York artist whose talent has already earned him a reputation that stretches from the salons of Paris to the grand homes of America’s elite. By his mid‑twenties he has become a celebrated portrait painter, admired for his skill yet modest about his own work, feeling more like a custodian of a gift than its rightful owner. His life is a blend of refined society, quiet ambition, and a lingering sense that his art belongs to someone else.

Into this world arrives Princess Aline of Hohenwald, a striking figure whose timing is uncanny—just when Morton’s heart and affairs are uncommitted. Her presence awakens in him a mixture of admiration, curiosity, and a yearning for a romance that feels both timeless and daring. As their paths cross, the painter finds himself drawn into a series of choices that test his ideals about love, honor, and the role of an artist in a world that still clings to old‑world chivalry.