Summary

In Chapter 25, a serving boy wakes Gideon and tells him he is wanted downstairs. Cutter explains that they must show Lady Ada her brother’s remains. She does not seem saddened by the news at all and is out playing tennis. Cutter admits to Gideon that Gideon was right about the Strythe and Spiriters conspiracies being linked. When Gideon asks Cutter whether he has a personal connection to these crimes, Cutter tells Gideon a story about an abandoned house. The windows of the house were bricked up, but a fire still managed to erupt there. Cutter points out how “the place had never been abandoned, that its fires had been tended unseen” (241). Gideon says he understands Cutter’s meaning.

Gideon seeks Angie out in Lady Ada’s private study. He finds Neuilly instead. Neuilly chatters on about a butterfly before telling Gideon...