Summer 1928. Leonard goes for a swim in the river near Birchwood and thinks of his younger brother, Tom. As he walks back to the house with his dog, he reflects on his time in the war. He dwells on the long history of the area and Edward Radcliffe’s excitement at buying Birchwood, and he wonders what made Edward so obsessed with the house. He sees a man and a woman walking toward him, a pair of lovers, “shiny and unbroken” (210), and next to them Leonard feels “thin and transparent” (210).

Leonard became interested in art when he went up to Oxford for university. Then World War I began and Tom enlisted, and Leonard enlisted, too.

When he returned from the war, Leonard felt that he didn’t fit anywhere. He feels the need to escape from the childhood memories of his brother. In 1924, he took a walking tour across England, which helped to calm his restlessness somewhat. He went back to school to study Edward Radcliffe and the Magenta Brotherhood. He won an art residency to stay at Birchwood, sponsored by Lucy Radcliffe, and he is happy to be there.