The Forgotten Garden

At Blackhurst Manor in 1900, Rose is contemplating the arrival of Eliza. Rose thinks it will be pleasant to have a protégé who will do exactly as she’s told. Her expectations are shattered the moment Eliza arrives with dirty fingernails and dressed in ragged boy’s clothing. At first, Eliza won’t answer any of Rose’s questions. She leaps around the room, examining everything. She even tries to open a window to let in fresh air, which terrifies the sickly Rose. When Eliza finally does speak, she explains that she didn’t want their other cousin to overhear them. She tells Rose that they have an insane cousin locked in the attic, but the ghost of an old woman let her out of her prison.

Rose is enthralled by the story as Eliza adds one embellishment after another. Just before the story concludes, Adeline bursts in. She is horrified by Eliza’s behavior and threatens that the girl will have no supper until she does as she’s told. After Adeline and Eliza leave, Rose feels strangely exhilarated that someone has managed to crack her mother’s cast-iron composure: “For in that moment, the stable borders of Rose’s world had seemed to shift. […] And that knowledge made Rose’s heart thump—strongly now—with unexpected, unexplained, unadulterated joy” (264).

At the Blackhurst Hotel in 2005, Cassandra is having breakfast in the dining room when the owner, Julia Bennett, introduces herself. She knows that Cassandra inherited Cliff Cottage from Nell. Julia tells Cassandra about her encounter with Nell when the old woman tried to climb the estate’s wrought-iron fence. Julia shows Cassandra a John Singer Sargent portrait of Rose and claims that Rose still haunts the hotel. Overcome by emotion at the sight of her great-grandmother, Cassandra reveals her connection to the Mountrachet family. Even though Julia is skeptical because she believes Rose’s only child died of scarlet fever, she listens to Cassandra’s story. Julia says that she discovered several of Rose’s scrapbooks hidden in a hole in the manor wall. She invites Cassandra to come over for dinner on Friday night so they can go through the scrapbooks together.

At Blackhurst Manor in 1907, Rose is posing for her 18th birthday portrait by John Singer Sargent. Eliza is part of the portrait because she and Rose have grown as close as sisters during the past seven years. Rose is enthralled by Eliza’s stories, some of which are fairy tales, some Eliza makes up, and some Eliza learns from the common folk in Tregenna. Under Eliza’s positive influence, Rose now believes she can have a normal life, get married, and raise a family: “Her husband would be like Eliza, Rose realized, a smile pulling at her placid expression. The gentleman she sought was the male incarnation of her cousin” (282).

As a birthday gift, Eliza has written a special fairy tale for Rose. It’s called “The Changeling.” In the story, a Queen wishes aloud to have a child. Her husband, the King, has stolen his realm from the Fairy Queen, who has fled. The King roams far and wide seeking to capture and imprison her. While the King is away, the Queen delivers a baby girl named Rosalind. She knows the child was conceived through fairy magic. At the girl’s christening, a crone comes to reclaim the infant. The Queen makes a bargain to keep the girl until she reaches the age of 18.

As Rosalind grows, the Queen regrets her promise to give the girl up. She consults a banished fairy who gives her a potion that changes Rosalind into a beautiful bird. The Queen places the bird in a golden cage where its sad and beautiful song can be heard by all. Many princes, lured by greed, try to open the cage, but all are killed. Finally, a humble woodcutter seeks to free the bird from captivity, and she is transformed back into a princess. The Fairy Queen arrives to see the young couple married. Rosalind’s mother is transformed into an ugly bird that flies away. It is killed and eaten by the Evil King, who has been driven mad by his fruitless search for the Fairy Queen.

Eliza is hard at work on her story when Mary announces that Lord Linus wishes to see her in his photography studio. He tells Eliza that he is pleased with her progress in her studies. He notes that she enjoys the gardens just as her mother once did. Linus twines her hair through his fingers as he talks about his failure to find Georgiana in time: “She was transfixed by his face; it was that of the wounded fairy-tale king whose subjects have all deserted him” (294). Linus wants Eliza to pose for a photograph. Just at that moment, Adeline bursts in to announce that it’s time for Rose’s birthday luncheon. She hurries Eliza out of the room.

Shortly afterward, Adeline thinks about the scene she has just witnessed: “Georgiana’s girl, her hair hanging loose, looking for all the world like a ghost from the past, and the expression on Linus’s face, his old face turned foolish by a young man’s desire” (295). Adeline thinks of a plan to deal with the unpleasant situation. She will take Rose abroad so that suitors won’t be distracted by Eliza’s greater beauty. Then, she’ll have friends conspire to draw Linus away on exotic photographic expeditions: “Satan would not be allowed to find mischief for his idle hands to do” (298).

Later that afternoon, Linus is sitting in the garden reminiscing about his early years. He was born lame and never gained the affection of either of his parents. When Georgiana arrived 10 years later, her kindness and empathy won him over, and he doted on her. His parents thought his attachment was unnatural, so they bundled him off to school. There, he discovered a love of photography. By the time Linus returned home, Georgiana had grown into a lovely young woman and became her brother’s favorite photographic subject. Linus pauses in his reminiscence to gaze at his one remaining photo of Georgiana. Now that his parents are dead, Linus is lord of the estate, and he sees Eliza as his second chance: “He was master and what he wanted he would have. Eliza” (304). 

Cassandra is examining Cliff Cottage in 2005. She notices a wall at the back of the property but can’t find a door that leads to the other side. She goes back in the cottage to wait for the gardener who promised to cut down the tree limb sticking through the roof. When the gardener does arrive, he says he has another appointment but leaves his younger brother Christian to take care of the tree limb. Cassandra asks Christian about the wall behind the house. He shows her a hole at the bottom of the wall where they can gain access to a hidden garden.

Christian says he’s played there since he was a boy. Once inside, they find a vine-covered door with a brass handle, but Cassandra doesn’t have the key. She tells Christian about her family connection to the Mountrachets. He knows about Eliza’s book and has read all her fairy tales. Cassandra confides that she’s overwhelmed by the amount of work it will take to get the cottage and garden in shape to be sold. Christian volunteers to help even though Cassandra can’t afford to pay him: “I’m earning peanuts already. Might as well earn nothing working in a place I love” (317).

In Tregenna in 1975, Nell is inspecting the second floor of Cliff Cottage. She flashes back to her childhood memories in the place. Her father and the Authoress are arguing downstairs, which distresses her. She doesn’t know what the fight is about, but she hears her name mentioned: “Her name, Ivory, sharp and jagged like a star cut from cardboard with pointed scissors. Her name as a weapon” (319). When Nell goes downstairs, she abruptly tells the estate agent that she wants to buy the cottage. On the way back to the Tregenna Inn, she marvels at her impulsiveness. Still intent on how to manage the finances as she walks into the hotel, she collides with Robyn. The girl has brought her research materials on the Mountrachet family and invites Nell to have dinner again with Grandfather William. Nell demurs and says William may not want to see her again. Robyn insists that it was his idea. He has something important to tell Nell about the cottage and Eliza.