A Fortune of Sand

Back at the family estate, Glen Arden, Marjorie is in her room with her siblings, Chet and Graham. Marjorie hides behind a dressing screen when their father, Duncan, storms in, enraged that Marjorie was seen in a patrol car and that she spoke to someone about his feud with her grandfather. Calling her a “liability,” he declares that he wants her out of the house. After he leaves, Marjorie asks about her suitcase but evades her siblings’ questions about why she needs it. Privately, she resolves that she will need the suitcase, a ride out of town, and a way to slip away without her parents knowing.

The Lennox family attends their tense annual birthday dinner at their club, notable for the absence of their grandfather, Cormac, because of his feud with Duncan. During an argument among the siblings, Marjorie recalls that Graham lost an eye at the previous year’s birthday celebration when a champagne cork from Duncan’s bottle struck him. Although Cecile insists it was an accident, Marjorie points out that Duncan had aimed the bottle at Graham’s head. Myrtle Branley mentions that the mysterious Charles Bonafante has returned to town and reinvested in his arts residency program for women. Hearing this, Marjorie exclaims, “YES!”, confirming to herself that it was him she saw at the police station. She then shocks her siblings by revealing that information about Bonafante’s program mysteriously appeared in her room and announcing that she has been accepted into the four-week residency and is leaving the next day.

While Marjorie prepares to leave, Chet secretly writes obituaries for The Detroit Times under Graham’s name because working as a journalist would be considered improper for a young woman from their wealthy family. Graham submits her work and splits the earnings with her. When Graham arrives, Marjorie asks Chet to keep the residency secret and tells Graham to tell her mother that she is at the family cottage. Graham has agreed to drive her. Chet then brings up the “Peter incident,” when their eldest sister, Cecile, informed their father that Peter Howell, an artist Marjorie had dated, had been questioned in connection with a jewel heist at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Although Peter was never arrested, their father forbade Marjorie from having further contact with him.

While Graham drives Marjorie into Detroit, he asks whether she has enough money, prompting her to think about the cash she took from her mother’s secret “play fund.” When taking the money, Marjorie discovered a love note from her mother’s “tennis” partner addressing Lilah as “my darling angel” (5), but she found it too upsetting to read. As they drive, Graham describes Duncan as a ruthless and greedy father and expresses concern that Duncan’s excesses may threaten his health. Marjorie reflects on the changes taking place in Detroit under Prohibition and the accompanying rise in crime and illegal business. The drive prompts Marjorie to recall the only time she met Charles Bonafante. Years ago, at a private gathering on the final night of the Pontchartrain Hotel, he had kindly steered her away from a large bonfire in the ballroom before returning her safely to her grandfather. She has never told anyone about the encounter, holding onto the memory of his kindness.

Graham and Marjorie arrive at a three-story stone building called the Nightingale, the site of the artist residency. A man named Dock tries to prevent Graham from entering, but Graham insists on seeing Marjorie’s apartment to ensure her safety. Dock explains that Bonafante funds the program but that he runs it, disappointing Marjorie. In the hallway, they meet another resident named Ivy. As Graham leaves, he reminds Marjorie that he will come for her if she becomes homesick, but Dock informs him that the residency is “immersive” and that early departures are not allowed, then shuts the door in Graham’s face and locks it.

Dock reviews the residency’s strict rules, which he calls a “lease,” with Marjorie. The rules state she must keep her doors locked at all times, remain on the first floor, never speak of the residency to outsiders, and adhere to a 9 pm curfew, after which all doors are bolted from the inside. She is also assigned a job distributing newspapers to the other residents each morning. Hearing that Charles Bonafante was involved in creating the lease, Marjorie signs the paperwork, and only after Dock leaves realizes that she did not read the fine print.

Immediately after leaving, Dock returns to reprimand Marjorie for failing to lock her door as the lease requires. He tells her that the gold key on her key ring locks the door but does not answer when she asks about the second, silver key. Left alone in her small, dated apartment, Marjorie explores the rooms and considers how she might adapt the space for her work without violating the lease. When she inspects the bathroom mirror, she discovers that a series of scratches on its aged surface form a repeating pattern: the word “No” written over and over.

Upon returning to Glen Arden, Graham is shown a suitcase left in a car trunk, which he opens to find it filled with numerous pairs of old baby shoes. He is met by Chet, who worries they made a mistake in letting Marjorie go. Chet gives Graham an obituary she has written for him to deliver to the newspaper. Their hushed conversation is interrupted by their grandfather, Cormac Lennox, leaving Chet and Graham uncertain how much of their discussion he has overheard.

In the sitting room, Graham’s grandfather, Cormac, reveals that he underwent a cognitive examination and filed the report with his attorneys to prevent his son, Duncan, from having him committed to an asylum to get him out of the way. Later, when Graham asks what kind of family they are, Cormac describes the Lennox family as “a crooked one” (48). They also discuss whether Cecile knows that her husband, Lou, is working with the Purple Gang. When Graham asks about Cormac’s secret, Cormac confirms that his wife, Granny, was the first one to figure it out.

Marjorie visits the apartment of her neighbor, Ivy, and finds it bright and elaborately decorated, in sharp contrast to her own drab quarters. Ivy explains that her family is in the tire business and that her late mother was a painter, while her father is intrigued that Ivy has followed in her footsteps. Marjorie tells Ivy that only Graham and Chet know she is at the residency, while the rest of her family believes she is at their cottage. Ivy reveals that her sole artistic subject is Christmas and shows Marjorie her “Tuesday Christmas” painting series. Ivy also says she believes the previous resident in Marjorie’s apartment was a dancer because she saw several pairs of ballet slippers outside the door, and that the other current residents are a playwright who is on a deadline and a furniture designer named Bernice.