Chapter 26 (Chapter 28) Summary: A Grave Plan for Princess Charlotte

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Hazel finds Jack at the London docks and asks his help to dig up a corpse. She explains the full plan to Princess Charlotte and Eliza: Charlotte will fake her death using a look-alike body so she can flee to Bavaria with Eliza, leaving behind her royal identity. Charlotte agrees, willing to sacrifice everything for love. Hazel and Jack meet at Bunhill Fields cemetery at two in the morning. They locate a fresh grave—Lucretia Wilkes, a twenty-one-year-old woman who died in childbirth. While digging, Hazel slips into the grave and the two share a passionate kiss. Hazel confesses her love and vows to find a way to undo the Tincture so they can build a life together. When they open the coffin, the corpse is badly mismatched: Lucretia is blond and long-faced, nothing like the dark-haired, round-faced Princess. They bury the grave again. Hazel announces she has a quicker, riskier idea to find a suitable body, and Jack insists on joining her.

Key Events

Hazel approaches Jack at the Iphigenia dock, dressed as a man, and asks for his help digging up a corpse.
She presents the fake-death scheme to Charlotte and Eliza; Charlotte agrees to sacrifice her title and privileges.
Hazel and Jack meet at Bunhill Fields, using spades and a dark lantern to dig up a fresh grave.
While in the grave, Hazel slips and falls into Jack’s arms; they kiss passionately.
Hazel tells Jack she loves him and pledges to research how to undo the Tincture.
They uncover the body of Lucretia Wilkes, but it looks nothing like Charlotte.
They refill the grave and abandon the body; Hazel reveals she has a better, more efficient method.
Jack decides to join Hazel on the riskier plan despite her warning.

Character Development

Hazel Sinnett is willing to break laws and risk prison to help Charlotte. Her love for Jack is now openly acknowledged, and she expresses a concrete goal: reverse the Tincture so they can be together. She also shows strategic thinking by pivoting to a new plan when the grave fails.
Jack past military restlessness softens as he agrees to one last dig for old times’ sake. The kiss and Hazel’s confession affect him deeply, but he still states he is immortal and cannot give her the life she deserves. His trust in Hazel’s abilities grows.
Princess Charlotte matures from a symbol into a decisive person. She fully understands the loss of privilege and chooses freedom with Eliza over an arranged marriage.
Eliza supports Charlotte unconditionally, holding her hand and sharing a kiss; she willingly becomes part of the conspiracy.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Love versus Duty: Charlotte gives up her royal duty for love; Hazel risks everything for Jack.
Identity and Resurrection: Faking death is a literal rebirth. The grave itself becomes a space of transformation where Hazel and Jack renegotiate their relationship.
Grave as Intimate Space: The narrow hole traps Hazel and Jack together, forcing physical and emotional closeness. The dirt, darkness, and coffin lid symbolise both mortality and hidden passion.
The Tincture as Barrier: Immortality stands between Jack and a normal life. Hazel’s plan to reverse it parallels Charlotte’s plan to escape her own “living death” as a princess.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the emotional and plot hinge of the second half of the novel. The fake-death scheme is set in motion, and the romance between Hazel and Jack reaches a crisis point—both characters finally speak their love aloud. The graveyard scene also introduces a practical obstacle (the wrong corpse) that forces Hazel to invent a more daring solution. The theme of choosing who you want to be, rather than who you are born to be, is crystallised here in both Charlotte’s decision and Hazel’s vow to undo the Tincture.

3 Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Hazel insist on digging up a corpse rather than using a living person to impersonate Charlotte?
Hazel needs a body that can pass for the Princess during a funeral procession and burial. A living person could be discovered or speak out. A corpse, dressed and styled like Charlotte, will be buried and never examined closely if the “disease” is said to be contagious.
2. How does the grave scene change Hazel and Jack’s relationship?
Until now, they have been physically apart since Edinburgh. The forced proximity and darkness break down their reserve. Hazel confesses love, and Jack admits he has missed her. The kiss commits them to a future together, even as they acknowledge the obstacle of his immortality.
3. What does Charlotte mean when she says she wants to be “a person” rather than “a symbol”?
Charlotte feels her royal identity has turned her into a political asset to be married off. By faking death, she can live as an ordinary individual, free to love Eliza and make her own choices. She values personal happiness over public duty.