Part II The Baths — Chapter Eleven

Ogier and Thomas Senlin push through the Baths toward North Port, avoiding agents and crowds. As they go, Ogier begins a practiced account of Marya’s recent history, speaking as if he has carried it for weeks.

Ogier recalls how Marya returned to model a second day, curious about his methods and frank about appearances in art. Her intelligence and candor impressed him, and she soon settled into longer sittings, even posing fully nude, while their conversations deepened.

Marya then recounted to Ogier how, after being separated from Thomas, she ascended alone: disguising herself in the Basement, bluffing through the Parlor by sabotaging the play, and finally reaching the Baths. There, her money was stolen from a room at Ms. Curd’s boarding house, leaving her desperate.

Seeking help, Marya engaged Horace Fossor, a retired customs man who expertly inferred her plight and offered to find Thomas for a daily fee, promising a refund if he failed. Fossor spoke of a philanthropic “Coterie of Talents,” urging Marya to appear respectable to gain their support. He arranged a new, elegant blue dress, arguing it would secure introductions and backing.

Ogier, alarmed by Fossor’s methods and the too-good-to-be-true coterie, kept his doubts mostly to himself. Marya admitted Fossor seemed vain and greedy but believed money was secondary to reuniting with Thomas. As their session ended, Ogier worried for her safety while the painting progressed, and Marya prepared to meet Fossor’s contacts that evening.