Trust

Per Bevel’s instructions, Partenza meets with his head housekeeper, Miss Clifford, about the greenhouse flowers for information for Mildred’s invented hobby. Neither Miss Clifford nor any of the other staff can provide any information about Mildred’s routine because they were all hired after her death: Following his wife’s passing, Bevel dismissed the staff and closed the house, moving to a hotel for some time. He eventually moved back in and hired new staff after realizing it had too much sentimental value to sell.

Partenza tricks Miss Clifford into showing her Mildred’s rooms. Miss Clifford is called away, leaving Partenza alone. The rooms have a radically different feel from the rest of the house, with “a monastic sort of calm […] a modern, austerely avant-garde atmosphere” (329). Mildred’s books—in English, French, German, and Italian—are all heavily annotated, and many contain personal inscriptions from the authors. Just before Miss Clifford returns to take Partenza to the greenhouse, she steals a piece of blotting paper covered in a hodgepodge of symbols.

Bevel invites Partenza to dinner at his house. As Partenza travels through the city in the silence of the limousine, she feels the allure of luxury for the first time, describing it as: