Duncan Forbes is a well-known painter and a longstanding friend of Sir Malcolm Reid. Constance likes Duncan for his easy-going manners, even if she (and Mellors) think his art, with its abstract “tubes and valves and spirals,” is ugly and a little insidious. Duncan has had a crush on Connie for decades, so when she needs someone to pretend to be the father of her illegitimate baby, Duncan agrees—on the condition that Connie will model for one of his paintings.