Splendors and Glooms Chapter 34 Summary

The Treasure Hunt

  • Lizzie Rose walks around Strachan's Ghyll, determined to explore the house and see all of its nooks and crannies.
  • She's still a little disturbed by Madama's demand that they show her the things they want from the house for their Christmas gifts—she doesn't want to take anything too valuable and be seen as greedy.
  • Somehow, she finds herself in a room with all sorts of treasures. On one wall are a bunch of miniature portraits of men with locks of their hair attached. She realizes that this must be a wall of admirers—and it seems impossible that Madama has had 48 lovers. Whoa.
  • She's about to leave when another picture catches her eye. It's a little portrait in an ivory frame that shows a little girl with red hair smiling and says, "From Marguerite. In remembrance."
  • Meanwhile, Parsefall is sneaking into Madama's room while the old woman is asleep. He's planning to steal the stone right now so he can get it over with and Grisini can finally leave them alone for good.
  • He grabs it, but just then, Madama wakes up and starts screaming at him to get away from her and leave the room.