Had it been up to me, I wouldn’t have driven up to the Taunus to visit Gundlach. I would have insisted that he, who wanted something from me, come to me. But Gundlach had called the firm’s manager and the firm’s manager had promised a visit. “Refuse to visit Gundlach? You still have a lot to learn.” He told me about Gundlach’s business, fortune, and connections. So I drove there, was let in by the butler, and had to wait in the foyer like a supplicant.

That Gundlach took me by the arm was another blow to my pride. He led me into the drawing room. To the right, a row of windows with a view over the plain; to the left, a wall of books; straight ahead, on a white wall, the picture. I stopped in my tracks, I had to, and Gundlach let go of my arm. You’ve never been in love…when we’re truly loved…the happiness God envies – all that she’d said the day before, she now promised as she walked down the staircase naked.

“Yes,” Gundlach said. “A beautiful painting. But it’s as if it’s cursed. Leg, breast, crotch – it’s one thing after another.” He shook his head. “Is the damage over with? I wonder. What about you?”

“I—”

“What if it goes on? Should Schwind keep coming back, again and again? I don’t want him in the house any more, and he’d rather paint new pictures than restore old ones. But he has to, he has no choice. And I have to let him into the house to restore it, because the law demands it. Isn’t that how it is?”

He looked at me, his eyes friendly but mocking. He had his lawyers, and knew that Schwind’s legal position was weak. But he also knew that I had to act as if it were strong. I could not betray my client. I could not tell Gundlach that he was playing a vile game. I nodded.

“Schwind would like the picture back. He feels that, as long as the picture is at my place, it won’t come to rest – and nor will he. Wouldn’t you agree that everything has a place where it belongs? If it isn’t where it belongs, it won’t come to rest. Paintings don’t come to rest, and neither do people.”

“If rest is a concern – not just for my client but for you as well – he’ll gladly buy the painting back.”

“He said as much to me. But it isn’t just about the painting. You see how she descends the stairs? Collected, relaxed, peaceful? When she came to the bottom, her peace was done with. Because it’s a place she doesn’t belong.”

“Your wife doesn’t give me the impression—”