CHAPTER TEN — THE FIRST PICTURE

Samuel entered the sitting room with Pritchard at his shoulder.
He had never stood before so many white guests except while carrying trays or waiting for orders.
This time his hands were empty.
Catherine saw that he was frightened, and she also saw that he meant to speak despite his fear.
Julian pointed toward the frame.
“Samuel, you will identify the man shown here.”
Pritchard removed the velvet.
The image beneath it was small enough that several guests had to rise for a closer look.
It showed a woman in a dark cloak standing near a window while a broad figure approached from behind.
The faces were indistinct.
The woman’s dress was partly hidden by the chair, and the man’s body disappeared into shadow.
Catherine had expected something worse,

yet its ordinary vagueness made her understand its power.
A viewer could imagine whatever accusation Julian supplied.
“Who is the man?” Julian asked.
Samuel looked carefully at the photograph.
“I do not know, sir.”
“You were seen near that room.”
“I work near that room.”
“You were asked to help my wife.”
“She spoke to me in the stable.”
Julian turned toward his guests.
“You see how cautiously he chooses his words.”
Samuel took a breath.
“I choose them because they are mine.”
Pritchard stepped closer, but a guest near the fireplace raised a hand.
“Let him finish,” the man said.
It was Mr. Greer, the cabinetmaker, who had entered with Ida and Frost.
He stood beside the photographer’s assistant, holding a narrow wooden frame.
Julian demanded to know why strangers had been admitted.


Greer answered before Catherine could speak.
“I made the apparatus used in that room.”
The editor’s interest sharpened.
“What apparatus?”
“A painted window and a movable screen.”
Julian pointed toward the exit.
“Remove these men.”
Ida stepped into the doorway.
“Mr. Vale, your guests asked for the truth.”
“You have no authority here.”
“No,” Ida said.
“But Mr. Frost worked for the photographer, and he has something he wishes to explain.”
Frost looked around the room as though every pair of eyes were a threat.
Then he held up a second framed plate.
“This is the first exposure made for the commission.”
Julian’s face went white.
Frost turned the picture toward the guests.
The woman in it had a visible face, as did the man standing behind her.
Neither face belonged to anyone at Vale House.
The editor came closer.
“Who are they?”
“Models hired in Richmond,” Frost answered.
“The arrangement was adjusted afterward to hide their identities.”
“Why?” the editor asked.
Frost looked at Julian.
“I was told the image would be used to represent other people.”
The room erupted in overlapping questions.
Julian moved toward Frost, but Martin stepped between them.
“Leave him alone,” Martin said.
Julian stared at him.
“You are making a grave mistake.”
Martin held his ground.
“I made one when I agreed to the commission.”
Samuel watched the guests turn their attention toward the two gentlemen.
He knew the change might save him for the moment.
It did not change the fact that Julian owned him under the law and could punish him after the visitors departed.
Samuel lifted his voice.
“Mr. Vale said I would be removed after I gave the statement.”
Catherine felt the room contract around the words.
Julian turned sharply.
“You have no right to repeat private instructions.”
“I have every reason to fear them.”
The rector lowered his eyes.
The editor stopped writing.
Samuel continued because stopping now would leave the danger hanging unspoken.
“I did not pose for either picture.”
“I did not approach Mrs. Vale for anything.”
“I was ordered to say a shadow was mine.”
Julian opened his mouth, but the guest by the fireplace interrupted.
“Then what is to happen to this man after supper?”
Julian tried to smile.
“An ordinary transfer of employment.”
Samuel answered before anyone else could speak.
“I have not been told where.”
The silence was more uncomfortable than the earlier accusations because no one could pretend the issue was only a marital quarrel.
Catherine looked at the guests, then at Samuel.
She realized that revealing the false image had exposed Julian’s method without taking away his power.
They had won a moment, not a future.