Chapter 10
Contains spoilers
Summary
- Hazel wakes up to morning light in her Bloomsbury bedroom and finds Barnaby missing from their bed.
- Suffering a sense of dread, she recalls coming to bed late at 1 a.m. while Barnaby was asleep.
- Annoyed by a continued ringing, Hazel answers a phone call from Edwin Hogan, her employer.
- Edwin informs her that someone has stolen a package from the bookshop during a chaotic day with various customers.
- During the call, Hazel lies, saying she left the package out for a coworker, Tim, even though she feels guilty.
- Edwin reveals that the stolen package contained valuable original illustrations of a fairy tale popular in America.
- Hazel responds with a partial truth, claiming she saw but didn’t thoroughly examine the illustrations before leaving due to being emotional.
- Edwin asks Hazel if she knows the whereabouts of Poppy, whom he cannot find, and Hazel defends her innocence.
- After the call, Hazel feels sick, vomits, and reflects on whom the theft might be blamed upon but decides against confessing the truth.
- Hazel dresses for the day and finds a note from Barnaby apologizing for leaving early, asking to meet later at Legrain.
- She mails a letter to Peggy Andrews and contemplates the truth and lies surrounding recent events and the need for honesty moving forward.