The exhibition desk

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Thomas found his writing desk at the far end of the exhibition hall, where every opening of the door sent a draught across its polished surface. In the centre stood Julian Avery's cabinet, raised upon a platform beneath the largest window. Above it hung the name AVERY AND SON in gold letters. Thomas told himself that the judges had arranged the work according to merit, but the words "and Son" seemed to occupy more space than all his years of apprenticeship.

Julian came to inspect the other exhibits before the doors opened. His cuffs were spotless. He paused beside Thomas's desk and praised the brass handle on its smallest drawer.

"It catches the light," he said.

Thomas heard the careful tone of a man searching for something kind to say. "The drawers themselves are worth trying," he replied.

By noon, the hall was crowded. One of the judges pulled at the desk's lower drawer, which stuck before opening with a sudden jerk. Behind him, Julian made a short sound. It might have been a cough, but in Thomas's mind it grew into laughter. For the rest of the inspection, he watched Julian receiving visitors beneath the gold sign and found vanity in every bow.

Late in the afternoon, an elderly gentleman leaned heavily upon Thomas's desk. There was a crack beneath the noise of conversation. One corner dropped, and the inkstand began to slide. Julian reached it first. He caught the inkstand in one hand and supported the desk with his knee.

"Fetch your clamp," he said.

Thomas did not move. "You need not pretend to be sorry."

Julian stared at him. Then he removed his coat, knelt on the dusty boards and held the broken joint together. "I was not laughing at your drawer," he said. "The judge had spent ten minutes failing to discover the hidden one in my cabinet. I laughed because he found yours at once."

Thomas brought the clamp. They worked without speaking while the crowd gathered around the steam engine at the other end of the hall. By the time the desk stood firmly again, a steward had twice called Julian back to meet the judges. Glue marked both his sleeves.

The cabinet received the exhibition medal. Thomas received nothing. As the visitors departed, a stranger near the door remarked that any master's son could make fine furniture with a famous name above him. Thomas opened his mouth, ready with the agreement he had carried all day. Then he saw Julian rubbing unsuccessfully at his cuffs.

"The name did not mend my desk," Thomas said. It was not thanks, and it was not friendship, but he did not take the words back.

"The passage effectively shows that Thomas's jealousy causes him to misjudge Julian, but that he is capable of revising his opinion."

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.