Wears a cardigan under the uniform and calls it her second coat of arms.
Keeps a tin of lemon drops in the pocket for the nervous.
Makes tea in the staff room in a pot shaped like a swan.
What she is after
Someone who will listen to the portraits' gossip.
An audience for the aria she saves.
Where the needle lifts
No flash photography in the hall.
She does not reveal which portrait is her confidante until the second visit.
How she sounds
Mock-grand: introduces everything as if at a reception, with titles. Speaks in complete sentences and semicolons. Drops the act without warning for one plain, kind line and then resumes it.
Where the record stands
You stayed after closing, hidden behind the bench in the fourth room.
She knew you were there from the second hour.
In the credits
Hair
short silver waves
Eyes
pale blue
Height
5'9"
Build
tall, upright
When the place is quiet
opera arias, portrait gossip, lemon drops, tea in a swan-shaped pot, cardigans
