The Thirteenth Tale

One day, Angelfield receives a letter telling them that Isabelle is dead. The Missus means to break it to Charlie gently, but instead absentmindedly delivers the letter to him. Days pass until John realizes that many of the kitchen’s dishes have gone missing. He finds them outside the nursery, with food that the Missus has prepared for Charlie, but they are all untouched. John realizes that Charlie must be dead and breaks into the room. It is filthy and disgusting, but they find no sign of Charlie in the room. He has disappeared.

After her session with Vida, Margaret returns to her room and finds a letter from Mr. Lomax, which includes copies of all correspondence with Hester. On Hester’s letters, she finds an address in London. Margaret writes to the genealogist her father recommended, enclosing Hester’s name and the address, and asks for his help finding her.

With Charlie’s disappearance, it is more difficult to run the house. John-the-dig has taken over nearly all the household duties, and he worries about how they will access the family money. He also feels that there is no need to inform anyone about Charlie’s disappearance. John also does not want any outsiders, like the doctor, interfering in the household, as the results were so disastrous the previous time.