Kate dials a number apprehensively, hoping her mother won't answer the call from a new phone.
Her mother picks up, sounding worried and hurried, and steps away from her work to talk.
Kate is reluctant to tell her mother about the abuse from Simon or that she is pregnant.
When pressed by her mother about why she's away, Kate vaguely mentions needing a break from complications with her relationship.
The conversation reveals that Kate's mother is in Canada, having remarried, and that Kate inherited a cottage in Cumbria from her late Aunt Violet, which was not disclosed earlier to her mother.
Kate feels guilt over causing her mother pain, reflected in past experiences like her father's death and her refusal to move to Canada with her, ultimately limiting their contact.
Kate hastily ends the call after asking her mother not to divulge her location to Simon, knocking over items in her room in her distress.
She reminisces about her connection to insects and nature as a child, her fondness for reading, and the incidents following her father's death, leading to her abandoning her early interests.
The chapter also describes a previous encounter with Aunt Violet and the house, underlining her detachment from her family's history until receiving the inheritance.
Kate ventures into the garden, overwhelmed by its vibrancy and the age of the sycamore tree, feeling both comforted and unnerved by the environment.
Reflection at the beck's side brings back childhood memories, but a damselfly prompts an emotional response tied to her past innocence and her father's death.
Discovering an unmarked, lichen-covered wooden cross by the sycamore possibly suggests an old grave, which brings unease and leads Kate to rush back inside.
In the cottage, she contemplates the history of the place and decides to look in the attic for answers about her family and the cottage's past residents.
The attic contains preserved insects and a large, old bureau with empty and locked drawers, but Kate finds a wrapped package in the first drawer to explore later, hinting at possible secrets kept by Aunt Violet.