Linus completes Case Report #2, noting that what first felt like chaos now reveals a working order. He praises Zoe Chapelwhite’s care and balanced lessons, recounts observing Lucy’s sessions and intellect, and weighs nature versus nurture. He worries about the children’s enforced isolation and the village’s hostility, and considers proposing a day trip. He acknowledges Arthur’s unconventional methods, the family they foster, and resolves to learn more about Arthur himself.

After lunch, Calliope steals Linus’s tie, forcing him to give chase into the denser garden. There, Linus discovers a hidden cellar door in the stone foundation, its heavy wood scarred by old scorch marks and sealed with a rusted padlock. He decides to ask Arthur about it but never finds a private moment.

Linus spends time with each child: Talia extols gardening; Zoe and Phee emphasize listening to the woods; Chauncey proudly shares his book on bellhops; Theodore shows his small hoard. When Linus asks about their happiness, he hears honest, uncoached answers—Phee wouldn’t live anywhere else, Chauncey wishes for a hotel to help at, Lucy jokes about world domination with his friends, and Theodore’s delight centers on Arthur.

Late in week two, Sal nervously comes to the guest house, comforted by Calliope. He invites Linus to see his room, which is spare and impersonal, with a closet desk and an old typewriter where he writes to organize his thoughts. Sal recounts how Arthur repeatedly asked what he wanted most; first Sal asked to stay, then for a typewriter, which Zoe and the others provided and restored. When Sal reveals he overheard Linus call this visit an investigation, his fear of being forced to move resurfaces. Linus clarifies his role and intent, but the tension lingers.

Sal asks Linus to help move the desk from the closet to the window. Working together, they make the change, and Sal is pleased with the result. He then discloses a painful past: after being struck by a kitchen worker at a previous orphanage, he retaliated, and the woman underwent the change the following week. Sal vows it will not happen again. Linus chooses empathy over distance, reassures Sal, and their fragile trust deepens.