Caroline attends her first art class at James’s home, though she doubts her decision when she sees that the other students are all men. Robert, the butler, leads the group upstairs to a yellow studio filled with art supplies and natural light. James enters with Malcolm on his shoulder. The bird flies to Caroline and nips her ear, but she firmly corrects it. When Pan enters with a bowl of apples for a still life, the students greet him warmly.

Over the following weeks, Caroline grows in confidence. She cherishes James’s praise, though he maintains a reserved demeanor unlike their encounter at the gardens. The art class becomes her refuge from her marriage. Early in the marriage, she found Mr. Preston with another man, and they have not had sex since. At social events, her husband is frequently drunk, while she and James exchange powerful, unspoken glances that leave her “shaken.”

As her attraction intensifies, James grows more distant. Caroline begins spending more time on painting and her appearance to try to gain his notice. During a carriage ride, her mother, who has observed her behavior, warns Caroline to be careful and avoid having an affair before she has children. Caroline reacts with guilt-fueled anger. Her mother discloses that she is working to convince Caroline’s father to allow her to leave her husband and return home, which startles Caroline, who realizes her marital home offers more freedom to continue the affair than her parents’ home would.

James’s feelings for Caroline refuse to fade. One Saturday, James invites her to remain so that he can begin teaching her to work with a pinfeather. Overcome by her look of delight, James excuses himself to retrieve his early works from the library. Caroline asks to accompany him, and when he sees her “bathed” in the room’s light, he approaches her, overwhelmed. They acknowledge their love for one another and kiss.

Caroline and James become lovers, meeting on Saturdays and arranging clandestine meetings during the week. James remains “guarded” about his past but likes to hear Caroline share hers.

One afternoon in his bedroom, Caroline asks about his eye. He explains that he was born without sight in one eye and, at her request, removes his eye patch, revealing a cloudy eye. She kisses both his eyes tenderly. When she asks about his adoption, he reveals that his mother was actually his grandmother and says that his parents died. As tension builds, he begins to confess he is made of “dark brown clay” (161), but Caroline misunderstands, playfully comparing his metaphor to her own marriage being stuck in manure. They laugh and embrace before she must leave for a family dinner.

During a carriage ride with her mother, Caroline inadvertently shows her a new pocket watch bearing the Burton stamp. Her mother expresses concern, calling James a “worldly” man and urging Caroline to guard her reputation.

By late January, Caroline is pregnant. Feeling excited about having James’s baby, Caroline decides to secure her husband’s agreement to pass the child off as his own before telling James. She arranges a private supper with Mr. Preston, serving his favorite dishes. When she announces the pregnancy, he immediately asks if the child is James’s. He agrees to raise the child as their own but demands that she end the affair immediately. Caroline refuses, and he tells her that James is a known womanizer who is using her. Devastated, Caroline begins sobbing as her husband storms out.

The next day, Caroline goes to James’s house unannounced. James is surprised, explaining that his lawyer is due to arrive momentarily. He reveals that he is selling his silver business to focus on illustrating his bird book, a plan meant as a surprise that would give them more time together. He assures her that he loves her, and she reveals that she is pregnant. James reacts with shock and distress, saying that there are things that she must know about him. Terrified that he will confess to affairs with other women, Caroline covers her ears and sobs, begging him not to tell her. He comforts her but insists that she leave before his lawyer arrives, promising that they will talk soon.

Caroline waits for his usual Wednesday note, but nothing arrives. On Friday, she receives word that James is stopping all art classes. She sends a desperate note begging to see him. His reply urges her to wait until after he has negotiated the sale of his business. All of February passes without contact, leaving Caroline anxious.

At month’s end, her mother forces a visit and is concerned by Caroline’s ill appearance. Her mother announces that she is hosting the museum’s annual ball, where James will be honored for receiving the grant for his excursion to paint birds. Galvanized, Caroline declares that she will attend to see him. Her mother objects, citing the advanced pregnancy and rumors about the affair. During the heated argument, Caroline blurts out that her husband has been having affairs with men, shocking her mother into silence. Caroline begs for her help. Her mother agrees on the condition that after the event, Caroline accompanies her to Stonehill until the baby is born. Caroline accepts but makes her mother promise to invite James to Stonehill before he leaves for his trip.

The possibility that Caroline’s child might show signs of Black ancestry causes James immense anxiety; he is particularly concerned about the catastrophic consequences if Mr. Cardon discovers the truth. Moreover, he fears that the sale of the silver business will become impossible if his secret is revealed. He resolves to stay away from Caroline until the sale goes through.

In the first week of March, James receives a reply to a letter he had written to Lavinia Pyke at Tall Oaks, asking to visit. Lavinia praises his artistic achievements and tells him about her daughter, Elly, and cousin Meg Madden, who run a school for girls in Williamsburg. However, she warns him not to visit Tall Oaks because their former overseer, Rankin, and his son, Jake, are still in the area. The news leads James to reconsider his excursion, but then he learns of Pan’s disappearance, convincing James that he must go south.

Caroline’s unhealthy appearance at the Cardons’ event worries James. The next day, he sends a note to her but learns that she has already left for Stonehill. Meanwhile, James hires a man to search for Pan, who learns that the boy is likely in North Carolina.

In the third week of April, James receives an urgent summons from Mrs. Cardon to come to Stonehill. He travels two hours to the magnificent country estate, where a distressed Mrs. Cardon explains that she knows he is the father of Caroline’s child. She tells him that Caroline has been gravely ill since their arrival. Worried about her husband’s impending arrival, she reluctantly takes James to Caroline’s room. Caroline awakens and clings to him. He promises not to leave her again and soothes her with a plan to take her and the baby to New York after the birth, saying that he will speak to her father. After Caroline falls asleep, James resolves to tell her the truth about his heritage. He decides to cancel his excursion to stay for the birth, considering hiring someone to retrieve Pan.

The next morning, James is horrified to discover that the maid who has brought his coffee is Delia; she recognizes him and runs from the room. Shortly after, James learns that Mr. Cardon has arrived and demands his immediate presence in the study. There, a servant blocks the door while Mr. Cardon, armed with a pistol, stands at his desk. Cardon hurls a paperweight at James, strikes him across the face, and reveals that he knows James is Black. He produces the letter James wrote years ago, which Delia evidently gave him. Cardon attacks James with a knife, pricking his neck. Mrs. Cardon bursts in, pleading with her husband not to harm James for Caroline’s sake. Cardon retorts that he would rather see Caroline dead than with a Black man. He announces his plan to take the baby and tell Caroline that it died. When James offers to take the child, Cardon knees him in the groin. Cardon gives James five days to leave Philadelphia forever, threatening to kill both him and Caroline if he ever returns or speaks of the matter.

In the carriage leaving Stonehill, James touches his bleeding neck wound and knows Mr. Cardon’s threat is real. At home, James tells Robert that he will be killed if he does not leave Philadelphia. He also discloses his parentage: His mother was a biracial enslaved woman and Marshall Pyke was his father. He reveals traumatic childhood memories, including hiding under a bed at age six while Marshall hit and raped Lavinia, Marshall’s plan to sell James into slavery, his grandmother’s death in the fire calling for James’s help, and James’s killing of Marshall. Robert comforts him, saying that he was a child “fighting for [his] life” (186), and pledges to accompany James wherever he goes. When James asks how Robert knew his secret, Robert reveals that he, too, is of biracial heritage.

The next morning, an envelope arrives with a card reading “Day One,” marking the countdown. Later that day, the museum notifies James that his grant has been withdrawn. Robert suggests that he could stay in Philadelphia until the house is sold and then join James in New York. They purchase a small house in Robert’s name to store valuables. On the morning of day four, the daily note does not arrive. Instead, an afternoon delivery brings a black-edged note from Mrs. Cardon stating that both Caroline and the child have died. James sits in his study all night in shock, unable to accept the news.

On the morning of day five, Henry bursts in, announcing that he has located Pan. The boy was sold to a plantation called Southwood in North Carolina, and Henry presents a hand-drawn map. James, lost in grief, tells Henry that his trip is canceled. Henry pleads with him, offering to go himself if James provides the money. Moved by Henry’s desperate courage in facing his deepest fears, James agrees to go rescue Pan. Henry begs to accompany him, offering to pose as his enslaved servant. James agrees that they will travel together, with James posing as an artist.