Chapter 7 (sections v-vi) Summary

Two years after seeing Isabel for the last time, Maugham drops by to see Suzanne Rouvier at her apartment. When he enters, she is wearing a smock with a paintbrush in her mouth. Her living room is filled with paintings, and she tells Maugham that she is going to have a showing at Meyerheim's, a well-respected art gallery. Maugham asks her how she pulled that off, and she tells him that Mr. Achille, her rich married lover, brought some paintings by Meyerheim's.

Suzannne tells Maugham that she is getting married and explains the story behind her suddenly successful art career. Achilles' wife, whom he married more for money than love, has passed away. He asked Suzanne to marry him, and she agreed. However, he didn't want to bring her back to his French town of Lille without a good...