The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

That night, there is a knock at the door as Malcolm finishes his dinner. Outside is a man who introduces himself as the gyptian Coram van Texel. He tells Malcolm that Lord Asriel sent him to return Malcolm’s canoe and shows the boy the improvements made as a thank you. The canoe has been strengthened, repainted, and fitted with brackets that can be equipped with slender sticks to support a waterproof tarp for cover. Malcolm is delighted. Then, Coram tells Malcolm that he knows Hannah Relf and needs to warn Malcolm about two things. First, he says a huge flood is coming. Even though the weather will clear for a few days, the rain will start again, and Malcolm needs to be ready. Second, he warns Malcolm to watch out for Gerard Bonneville, a man with a hyena dæmon. Malcolm tells Coram that he saw Bonneville in the inn, and Coram tells him not to trust the man if he returns.

After Coram leaves, Malcolm looks up “aura” in his dictionary. However, he miss-remembers the word and reads the description for “aurora” instead. He is delighted to learn about the northern lights and decides that whatever causes the aurora must also be causing the spangled rings he sees. The following day, Malcolm notices that Alice is more distracted than usual. When Malcolm’s mother leaves the kitchen, Alice tells Malcolm that she spoke to the man with the hyena dæmon, that he told her he is Lyra’s father, and asked questions about the priory and Lyra’s safety. Alice blushes, talking about Bonneville, but Malcolm doesn’t understand why.

Over dinner, Malcolm mentions that Alice told him she spoke to Bonneville, and they look alarmed. His father tells him that Bonneville has a reputation for sexually assaulting women. Malcolm mentions Coram’s warning about the flood, and his parents consider this piece of information. After dinner, Malcolm notices one of the shutters is open at the priory. Asta sees a strange shape moving along the wall, and they soon realize it is Bonneville carrying his dæmon across his shoulders. As they watch, the dæmon falls to the ground, and they hear horrible, high-pitched laughter from the creature. They realize that Bonneville is beating his dæmon, something terrible that Malcolm never could have imagined. The sound alerts the nuns. Bonneville and his dæmon run off as the shutters close. Malcolm goes to sleep that night and dreams of a pack of wild dogs. He embodies their heightened, aggressive emotion and is exhilarated.

Despite Coram’s warning, the weather forecast stays clear, and most begin to think that the danger of flooding has passed. Hannah is surprised by a visit from Malcolm outside of their usual schedule. He tells her about Coram’s visit and Bonneville’s appearance and warns her about the flood. Hannah tells him that Bonneville has just been released from prison for a crime related to sexual assault and the chief witness against him was Lyra’s mother, Mrs. Coulter. Malcolm worries that he wants to hurt Lyra to get revenge.

That night, Hannah receives an invitation to dine with George Papadimitriou at Jordan College. Also in attendance are Lord Nugent and the other man Malcolm served at the Trout, Dr. Al-Kaisy. Papadimitriou tells Hannah that the assembled group constitutes Oakley Street, and they have a proposal for her. Lord Nugent explains that the alethiometer reader in Bologna was murdered and the instrument stolen, presumably by someone working for the Church. However, Oakley Street managed to intercept the murderer and take the instrument. Now, they would like Hannah to abandon her academic work and read the alethiometer for them full-time. Hannah asks for clarification on Oakley Street’s mission, and Dr. Al-Kaisy tells her they exist to defend democracy and freedom of expression. However, because the government is full of pro-Magisterium politicians, they must “defend democracy by being undemocratic” (202), working in secret. Hannah worries about her safety and the impact of abandoning her studies on her career. Still, she cannot pass up the opportunity to have unlimited time with her own alethiometer. She asks the alethiometer what she should do and receives an affirmative response, so she agrees to work for Oakley Street.

Malcolm visits the priory to warn the nuns about the flood. While waiting for Sister Benedicta to finish her service, he plays with Lyra and is impressed by her intelligence. Sister Benedicta also has a warning for Malcolm; she tells him he must stay away from Bonneville if he sees the man again, and Malcolm describes the scene he witnessed outside the priory. He also tells Sister Benedicta about the impending flood, but she waves it off as gyptian superstition. Malcolm has another dream where he embodies the energy of wild dogs, and he feels their excitement and aggression as he wakes up the next day.

At school, Malcolm also tries to warn his teachers, but to no avail. The League of St. Alexander still holds power there, and a group of senior students meet daily with the new headmaster to enforce their agenda. Malcolm’s friend Eric is promoted to the “second degree” of the League and now wears his badge hidden behind his lapel to better catch heretics and nonbelievers. Lessons begin with a prayer, and the halls have been decorated with Bible quotations instead of paintings.

On Saturday, Malcolm paddles to Hannah’s house, delighted with the improvement to La Belle Sauvage. When he arrives, a large vehicle outside announces that Hannah already has a visitor. Hannah invites him in, looking a little bothered and telling him quietly to be careful. Then she introduces him to Mrs. Coulter, Lyra’s mother, a beautiful woman with a “disconcerting” golden monkey dæmon. Mrs. Coulter asks him polite questions about where he lives and the books he borrows from Hannah, mocking him subtly when he says he might work on boats or the railroad when he grows up. Hoping to “disconcert” her, Malcolm tells her he met a friend of hers, a man with a three-legged hyena dæmon. Although her reaction is barely susceptible, Malcolm and Hannah can tell the information is a “horrible shock” for Mrs. Coulter. She replies that she doesn’t know anyone by that description and bids farewell to Hannah.

After Mrs. Coulter leaves, Hannah chastises Malcolm for his recklessness. She tells Malcolm that Mrs. Coulter came to ask about Lyra; she thought that Hannah had some connection to the child, and Hannah wonders if she received this “partial knowledge” from an alethiometer. She tells Malcolm that she has left the alethiometer group in Oxford to read for Oakley Street full-time and adds that she thinks Mrs. Coulter is a spy for the Magisterium. He promises not to say anything, selects his new books, and leaves as the rain starts to fall again.

In the afternoon, Malcolm goes to the priory and is surprised to find Alice in the kitchen. Lyra is asleep in her crib, and Sister Fenella sits beside her, looking unwell. As Lyra wakes, Sister Fenella warms a saucepan of milk for her and begins to feed her, but holding the baby, Sister Fenella faints. Lyra slides out of her arms, and Malcolm catches her just in time. He rushes out to find Sister Benedicta but instead finds the young and nervous Sister Katarina. Sister Katerina soon returns with Sister Benedicta. They revive Sister Fenella, and Sister Katerina takes over the care of Lyra so Alice can return to the cooking.

The next day, Malcolm stocks his canoe with supplies in case the flood comes. When Alice comes to work in the Trout’s kitchen that afternoon, Malcolm tells her about Mrs. Coulter’s visit and the effect that mentioning Bonneville had on her. Alice tells Malcolm that Sister Katarina left the priory shutter open on purpose for Bonneville. Malcolm wonders how they know each other, and Alice tells him to come to the priory that night so she can show him.

That night, Malcolm sneaks out in the pouring rain. He knocks on the kitchen window, and Alice tells him to go into the potting sheds out back. He is surprised to see the light on in the last shed, and when he peers through a crack in the wall, he sees Bonneville and Sister Katherine kissing and intertwined. After some confusion, he realizes they are having sex, and that Bonneville is likely trying to get to Lyra through a relationship with Sister Katherine. Shocked, Asta and Malcolm discuss what they should do. However, their whispered conversation is interrupted by a loud crash that shakes the shed.

The river has burst its banks, and Malcolm finds the kitchen flooded. Lyra’s crib is floating on the water, and a fallen beam has knocked Alice on the head. Malcolm seizes Lyra and pulls Alice up, but before they can escape, Bonneville bursts in, trying to take Lyra. Alice hits him over the head with a chair, and the children rush out. They hurry across the flooded bridge to the Trout, but all the doors are locked; Malcolm snuck out to the priory, and his parents assume he is safe in his room. Bonneville is coming closer, so Malcolm has no choice but to lead Alice and Lyra to La Belle Sauvage. They climb into the canoe and set off down the raging river.