Declan liked finding out how passionate Sargent had been about El Jaleo. A musician himself, Sargent had been fascinated by the culture of flamenco, and a trip to Spain had left such a mark that three years later he was still painting studies of dancers and guitarists for the piece that would eventually hang in the Gardner. When the twelve-foot-long painting debuted at the prestigious Salon, it rocketed Sargent to fame and cemented a career that would last his entire life. Was this what it had in common with Madame X? Was it that the painting changed his life, or was it that he knew that it was going to change his life? What was soul? Declan didn’t know, but he liked trying to find out.

Declan liked the new roles his brothers played in this fantastic construct. Even though he felt guilty about letting Matthew’s schoolwork slide (Was he going to college anyway? Would he ever actually be an adult?), he liked ordering takeout with him, and he liked using him as an excuse to see the touristy things, and he liked doing the holidays with him. Matthew’s dreamy episodes seemed to be fewer than before, and Declan felt safe enough to get Matthew a part-time job at one of the local galleries, packing orders, which seemed to improve his mood. Everyone loved seeing him; who didn’t love Matthew? And Ronan—even though he wasn’t in Boston, his presence was still huge in Declan’s life. Once Declan stopped changing his phone number and started going to parties, a Moderator named Carmen Farooq-Lane called to ask if he’d been in touch with Ronan Lynch since the Potomac River incident. (No, said Declan, but while I have you on the phone I should let you know I’ve made very good friends with an attorney since your unannounced attack on my personal residence, a sentence that ended the phone call.) And in the oddest places, people would lean in and suddenly whisper, Are you Ronan Lynch’s brother? Please thank him. This would have petrified Declan back in DC, but now it all made him feel like he was part of something bigger. Golden Matthew, charming the city. Rebellious Ronan, finally grown into something useful. Cunning Declan, trafficking in art and stories. The Brothers Lynch. He liked not worrying about them all the time.