The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Hazel and Flora ride with Harry to Bridie’s house in the countryside town of Binsey. Bridie welcomes them to her home, which is idyllic and charming. When Bridie accidentally refers to it as the girls’ home, Flora becomes offended and scared. Bridie apologizes and everyone settles in. The girls are enchanted by the house, but Hazel feels guilty for her happiness when her mother is in London. While they wait for dinner, Hazel and Flora read a note their mother left for them; it tells them to watch out for each other. Flora solemnly promises to watch out for Hazel.

Hazel brings the Whisperwood book back to the bookshop and confesses to her crime. Edwin and Tim are sympathetic to her story, though the policeman is not. The bookstore refuses to charge Hazel, but the policeman keeps a record of her confession. When Hazel reveals the damaged illustrations, Edwin tells her she must keep the book and pay for it over time. He gives her the original purchase receipt, which has a phone number leading to Peggy Andrews. On her way home, Hazel remembers her coffee appointment with Barnaby, but continues home. There she finds another note from Dorothy Bellamy and throws it away in anger. She waits until nine o’clock in the morning American time and then calls Peggy’s number. She tries to explain how Whisperwood was once her story, but Peggy becomes defensive. Hazel gives Peggy her phone number before Peggy hangs up on her.

In Massachusetts, Peggy considers the strange phone call. She suspects the English woman has sinister intentions with her work. She thinks about the difficult period her mother faced when two of her family members were lost and about how the success of their shared story is giving her mother new life. Peggy writes more of her story, then goes for a walk and thinks about her unexpected success. Her publishers are encouraging her to write an entire series. During her walk, Peggy encounters her friend Wren Parker, a childhood crush with whom she is still enamored. They talk about her book, and she remembers growing up next door to Wren and her growing infatuation with him. However, her mother has refused to let him into their lives, believing him to be a bad influence due to his past. Peggy tells Wren about Hazel’s phone call. He encourages her to follow up on it.

After Peggy hangs up on her, Hazel goes through her things and uncovers Flora’s teddy bear, along with old articles, drawings, and letters from Harry. To stave off her panic, Hazel calls Kelty to come over. Together they look at articles about Flora’s disappearance, and Hazel tells her about the Whisperwood story. Kelty recalls that Flora had told her that she would take her Whisperwood the first time Kelty arrived at the Aberdeens, upset about Mrs. Marchman’s treatment of her. Hazel remembers how she pushed Harry and Bridie away after the disappearance, telling them she never wanted to see them again. Together Hazel and Kelty consider what to do next.

Hazel and Flora prepare for their first dinner with Harry and Bridie. Bridie prays before they eat, and Flora asks about Harry’s father. He tells her that his father is “gone” but doesn’t elaborate. Bridie mentions that she’s preparing for the upcoming equinox, a word Flora doesn’t understand; in response, Bridie tells them about Persephone and Demeter and the changing cycle of the year. Hazel notices that Bridie and Harry are doting on Flora and feels jealous.

As Hazel and Flora lie awake, Hazel tries to comfort her sister. She tells her a story of Whisperwood, and they imagine they are lions running through the woods. After Flora falls asleep, Hazel gets up and writes a postcard for her mother. The next morning, she discovers a drawing of Flora’s bear from Harry slipped beneath their door. Hazel and Bridie share breakfast together, and Hazel tries to impress her with her manners. Harry joins them after milking their cow. Flora wakes alone and is frightened, but Hazel rushes to comfort her.

Hazel approaches Bridie’s cottage, which she hasn’t seen in 20 years. She thinks back to her morning with Barnaby; he offered to pay for her stolen book, and she declined. He reminded her of their upcoming trip to Paris and left for work. In Binsey, Bridie greets Hazel and warmly invites her inside. Bridie reveals that she once tried to visit Hazel, but Hazel’s mother forbade her. Hazel sees a man’s jacket nearby, and Bridie tells her that she married the local pub owner. Hazel apologizes for the discord and suspicion she brought into Bridie’s home after Flora’s disappearance. She tells Bridie about Whisperwood and shows her Peggy Andrews’s book. Hazel remembers the way the media blamed Bridie for Flora’s disappearance because of the prior disappearance of Bridie’s husband. Bridie admits that he was never her husband; Harry’s father was her lover, with a family of his own. Hazel asks about Harry and Bridie tells her he’s living in an artists’ colony in St. Ives. Bridie asks Hazel to tell her the Whisperwood story she told to Flora.

After visiting Bridie, Hazel goes to see Aiden Davies and tells him about the Whisperwood book. She tells him she is researching everyone who may have come in contact with the story, including four nurses who lived nearby. He gives Hazel their names and suggests enlisting Dorothy Bellamy to help. Hazel adamantly refuses. Back in London, Hazel goes to meet Barnaby for dinner. On her way, she passes an artist’s display table where she sees a painting of the Pied Piper. Nearby, she sees her half-brother Tenny with his friends. Though initially hesitant, they both acknowledge each other with a smile. Finally, Hazel arrives late for her date with Barnaby. After dinner, Barnaby insists on paying for the stolen book, but Hazel again refuses. He becomes exasperated with her independence.

Peggy is having dinner with her mother and thinking about Hazel’s phone call. She considers her own relationship to storytelling, her area of academic study, and her Whisperwood work. Peggy asks her mother where Whisperwood came from, and her mother is tense and evasive. Later, Peggy considers what she knows: Her mother and her aunt Maria told her the Whisperwood story in her childhood after her father died. Peggy finds Hazel’s phone number and hides it beneath her mattress.

Hazel arrives at her mother’s house, which her mother shares with her new husband, Alastair. She realizes her half-brother Tenny is the same age she was when she was sent away. Hazel remembers the day her mother told her about her upcoming marriage; she was hurt and betrayed. She considered telling her mother the truth about Flora’s disappearance and how much she blames herself, but she was unable to. Hazel goes inside and greets her mother and brother. Her mother asks if Hazel is pregnant or engaged, but Hazel defers. She sees a framed photo of Flora on the table and begins to cry. Hazel’s mother apologizes for sending them away and reveals that she’s been carrying her own guilt. Hazel tells her mother about Whisperwood and shows her the book and ignites a hope that it might lead them to Flora.

While Bridie works, Hazel, Flora, and Harry explore outside. Harry and Hazel warn Flora to never go near the river alone. Harry takes them to a graveyard by the cottage where the war nurses are staying and to a well that was meant to have inspired Alice in Wonderland. He tells them about another story associated with the well, about a princess named Frideswide who ran away from a king who wanted to marry her. When the king pursued her, he was struck by lightning and blinded. Now, Frideswide has been canonized as a saint. On their way, the children encounter Kelty, who’s being chased by two bullies. They’re harassing her because she’s an evacuee. She knocks one bully down, and Harry sends them away. Hazel and Kelty become friends.

Kelty comes home with the children, and Harry introduces her to his mother. Kelty wants to stay with Bridie because the woman she’s lodging with, Mrs. Marchman, is cruel to her. Later, Mrs. Marchman arrives to collect Kelty, and she and Bridie get into an argument. Bridie sends the children away, and Hazel tells Kelty about Frideswide to distract her. Soon, Aiden Davies arrives to oversee the dispute. Eventually, he tells them that Kelty is legally billeted to Mrs. Marchman and must return there.

The next day, Harry does schoolwork while Hazel and Flora explore. They pretend they’re in Whisperwood and imagine themselves as fairies. They become so distracted that the whole day goes by, and everyone becomes frantic with worry. Kelty finds them, and they return to Bridie’s. Harry’s concern makes Hazel abrasive, and she can feel herself becoming attracted to him. He admits that he’s worried about losing them because he’s already lost his father.