Chapter 27 Summary: Outshine, Once Again
⚠️ 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
The chapter opens with Iris, Tobias, and Attie rolling into River Down in a roadster running on fumes. It is late afternoon, and the town is crowded with soldiers and lorries—Enva's brigade has arrived and settled wherever space allows. Townspeople carry out hot meals and hang laundry, a quiet contrast to the military presence. Iris is distracted, her mind still back in the wardrobe's strange, torch-lit room with Roman.
The trio parks outside Lucy's home. Lucy stands on the porch, initially appearing to scowl, but her expression softens as she checks them for wounds and invites them inside for tea and biscuits. Marisol and Keegan are at the kitchen table, hands laced together. Marisol is relieved but upset—Keegan had told her the three were safe in the procession, but they had appeared in Hawk Shire instead. Tobias explains they had a flat tire and were seen by Dacre's soldiers. Iris then reveals that Dacre released his hounds, and Attie adds that Bexley outran them in his roadster.
Marisol's grief surfaces as she laments that young people should be able to dream and love without the horrors of war. The kitchen falls silent until the kettle hisses. Keegan whispers gently to Marisol, and she invites the three to eat. After tea and a ham-and-mustard sandwich, Iris retreats to the laundry room with her typewriter.
Kneeling before the wardrobe, Iris unlocks the First Alouette. Overcome by grief, she covers her face, but then notices two letters waiting at the wardrobe door. The first letter answers the three questions she had sent days ago: her pet snail was named Morgie, her middle name is Elizabeth (in honor of her nan), and her favorite season is autumn. The second letter asks her three questions in return: how he takes his tea, his middle name, and his favorite season.
Iris smiles and types her replies: he prefers coffee with honey (no milk), his middle name is Carver, and his favorite season is spring because that is when baseball returns. She hesitates, wanting to say more, but sends the letter.
Roman replies. He confesses that touching her restored his memories—that he had been falling in love with her a second time, and that his dreams were attempts to piece himself back together. He offers to share information about Dacre's movements, but only if she promises to be careful. He signs the letter