At the start of the year, Toms Aguilar and Fermn begin planning a new project they hope will keep them and Daniel out of military service, with Fermn loudly deriding the army and other institutions.

One October afternoon, with Daniel minding the shop while Daniels father is away and Fermn tidies high shelves, Bernarda appears at the window on her day off. She greets Daniel warmly, says she is missed at home, and explains she has come to buy a book as a birthday present for her niece.

Fermn makes a dramatic entrance after dropping a set of books, then immediately courts Bernarda with exaggerated gallantry and salesmanship. He steers her away from potentially sensitive religious titles and recommends Jules Vernes The Mysterious Island. Daniel refuses to charge her, and Fermn swiftly turns the moment into an invitation to tea, which Bernarda accepts as Daniel discreetly funds Fermns outing.

After they leave together, Daniel closes the shop. Soon, Daniel hears the doorbell and slow footsteps, followed by the sound of books falling; when Daniel checks, the intruder is gone, but a burned-edged photograph has been left on the counter.

Studying the old studio portrait, Daniel sees a smiling young couple posed before a hat-shop window marked Sons of Antonio Fortuny. Recalling Isaacs information that Julin Carax used his mothers surname and that his father was Fortuny, Daniel recognizes the young man in the photo as Julin Carax, linking Carax directly to the Fortuny hat shop on Ronda de San Antonio and suggesting the pursuer is still closing in.