Chapter 29

Summary

• The narrator invents stories about her time with Aunt Ripleigh, including reading to her and nursing her until her death.
• Aunt Ripleigh leaves the narrator a large fortune consisting of gold and raw jewels, enough to buy a thousand estates.
• The narrator's father is rejuvenated by the wealth and a tonic given by Tamlin that also improves his limp.
• Her father is busy taking inventory of the jewels, showing signs of his old, vivacious self.
• Elain, the narrator's sister, is thriving and happy, tending to her own garden and planning a trip to see the continent's tulip fields.
• Elain invites the narrator to join her on the trip, as their other sister, Nesta, refuses to go due to the sea crossing.
• The narrator is surprised by Elain's willingness to miss the socialite season for the trip and by Elain's lack of suitors.
• Elain comments on how society has acted as if the family's past poverty was a distant, unmentionable event.
• Elain feels nostalgic for the hardship they faced because the wealth feels overwhelming and isolating, and she is concerned about Nesta's withdrawn behavior.
• Nesta had attempted to visit the narrator but was turned back, possibly due to Tamlin's magic.
• The narrator notices a change in her own appearance, likely an effect from her time in Prythian, and wonders if it will fade.
• Elain questions whether the narrator had met someone significant during her stay at Aunt Ripleigh's.
• The narrator spends her days with Elain in the garden, finding peace and taking comfort in Elain's happiness.
• The narrator becomes extremely wealthy and invests in her father's business, then takes some bags of money and visits their old cottage.
• She reminisces about Tamlin and fears for his safety, hoping to be summoned back to his side.
• The narrator reaches their old cottage, which seems smaller and plainer than she remembered; it was once a prison but now looks plain and ordinary.
• Elain misses the cottage for the hope it represented to her, while the narrator only felt hatred for it, recognizing Elain's strength and perspective.