Kress

Kress is a bun woman who appears at the gathering around Evan Michaels as a teasing participant and a maker of distinctive gifts. Her clearest personal gesture is presenting Evan with a watch she designed and made herself: an object fashioned to resemble a timepiece but without hands or a movement.

Identity and Characterization

Kress is introduced amid opium smoke, where she dismisses Chance’s dice as an unimpressive gift. When Chance challenges her to show what she has brought, she answers with a deliberately formal bow and a playful presentation of her own offering. The exchange establishes her as both irreverent and ready to turn gift-giving into a small performance.

The Watch for Evan

Kress removes a black watch from her wrist and hands it to Evan. Its polished, interlinked rectangular band and concealed clasp give it a carefully considered construction; the face is also black, with green jade arms arranged in a Maltese cross pointing toward the four directions. Despite its watch-like appearance, it has no hands or mechanism. When Evan says he does not understand, Kress directs him to the inscription, whose wording is not supplied in this scene. The gift’s craftsmanship is clear, while its meaning remains partly withheld.

Place in the Celebration

Later, after Ramsay calls Evan back with news of a surprise, he finds Kress standing over the two girls he had singled out earlier. The surrounding gathering has shifted into a presentation for Evan: Ramsay offers him a silver goblet and tells him the girls are for him, while the assembled guests cheer. Kress’s presence at this moment links her to the scene’s staged celebration, although the account does not explain what role she had in arranging it.