Chapters 8 - The Count and 9 - Little Alba Summary

After their marriage, Blanca and de Satigny move away to the northern portion of the country, far, far away from Clara's house. De Satigny never engages Blanca in sex. Instead, he focuses himself on disposing of the considerable monthly stipend he receives from Trueba. He focuses on cocaine, opium, and photography. His photography is very secretive and transpires in a locked basement room where Blanca is forbidden. De Satigny also sets up a large business network that illegally plunders local artifacts and sells them to international buyers. He sells many relics including entire mummies that fetch particularly high prices from foreign museums.

Over the months, Blanca notes the house staff treats her with a particularly obnoxious disdain—de Satigny has hired a caste of misfits from the local...