Summary

In Chapter 7, Eustace visits Elias Cromer, a lawyer and former employee of Mr. Crowe. Elias warns Eustace that Dr. Chastern “envies [Mr. Crowe’s] gifts, though he thinks it his duty to curb them” (87). They speak obtusely about Mr. Crowe, and people like him, who are not confined to the limitations of humans. Elias confides in his friend that Clara is not an ordinary child; he reveals that she, like Mr. Crowe, possess supernatural and covetable abilities. Before he leaves, Eustace asks Elias to make legal preparations in the event that he comes to harm.

Clara visits the tower in Chapter 8. She ascends the turret and opens a secret door in the bookcase using a hidden lever in the mouth of a dragon statue. Once inside her secret hiding place, Clara climbs up to the roof and uses a pair of opera...