Yes, I believe this is our first look at Amanda's portrait, a fairly big reveal for a midweek episode.
Whoever drew the brooch did a beautiful rendering.
Good scene with Amanda and Trask. By the end she has all she can do to hide her dislike and revulsion.
You're right on target about Gregory's death, although [spoiler]considering how his ancestor died it's very appropriate[/spoiler]. Now that Charity is permanently possessed by Pansy, her ability to foretell the future apprently is real--a bonus gift from Petofi, perhaps.
Poor Amanda complains to Tim about the awful thing he's asking her to do--and reminds him that he promised her diamonds. Sitting beside her on the bed and putting his arm around her, Tim opines, Sometimes, you don’t really know what you’re like, and maybe that’s what’s so interesting about you. I’ll stay, she agrees with a sigh--provided you promise I’ll never have to live at Collinwood. We’ll see, Tim says. No, I want your promise, Amanda insists. How many diamonds did you say you wanted? Tim asks to distract her. More than you will ever be able to buy me, she murmurs as they kiss.
This would seem to be a good spot for a commercial, but there isn’t one. Apparently some time has elapsed since the kiss, and we can assume that Tim and Amanda have enjoyed each other’s company. Tim has apparently gone out. Amanda is lying across the bed, looking very, very relaxed, when Tim returns, carrying his top hat with a present inside. She opens the box (facing away from us). It’s beautiful! she exclaims. And she and Tim proceed to enjoy each other’s company yet again (offscreen as always, since there’s never any sex on this show).
Petofi insists on bringing Charles to the Collins Port Inn to see Amanda, then leaves. Thinking he's been left in the lurch, Charles is truly annoyed--but also curious. The moment Petofi leaves, we hear Amanda and Tim laughing and talking as they come downstairs. (Actually, Amanda’s shadow is visible long before her cue.) My mood changes every time I get something I want, she tells Tim. (Like a child, she seems to enjoy anything shiny. But since she is a grown woman, she prefers real bling.) Charles is amazed when Amanda comes into view, her already exquisite beauty heightened by the afterglow of Tim’s attentions. They pause while Tim checks for messages. Amanda stands in Charles’s full view as she struggles with Tim’s present. Charles is stunned to see that it is an exact match for the brooch he painted only this morning. When Tim returns, she complains, The clasp is loose. I was going to get you some diamonds, Tim replies teasingly as he fastens the clasp, but when I saw this brooch, I had to get it for you. I’m glad you did, she enthuses. Do you like it? he asks. I like it very much, she assures him. Then everything is all right, Tim says and kisses her. She agrees, and they leave.
Back at his studio, Charles studies his painting of the brooch, then steps over to the easel holding the portrait that we still can’t see. It’s not possible! he exclaims as he reaches for the painting. He turns it, and at last we see the portrait: First the brooch on the bosom of the woman’s dress, then her face--an almost speaking likeness of Amanda Harris.....
