Part 1 here.
This recap will cover Chapters 9-12.
Annie wakes up and her doctor tells her that she has emotional and psychological injuries as well as the physical ones. He advises her that she needs peace and quiet, which means no visitors or phone calls.
Of course Annie protests that she hasn’t had many visitors but the doctor is quick to tell her that the number doesn’t matter, the stress does. Annie agrees to follow his orders, though.
A stricken Tony comes in and is assured by the doctor that Annie is fine now. Annie is worried that Luke will blame himself and Tony offers to send him a telegram wishing him good luck on his graduation speech.
The next day Tony recites how the graduation went, as described by Luke. He also breaks the news that the doctor has signed Annie’s release papers so they will head to Farthy in the morning.
OK, is it me or is it weird that the car accident hasn’t really been discussed? I understand they don’t want to upset Annie, but who was at fault? Drunk ass Logan? The other driver? What happened to the other driver?
An hour later, a custom made wheelchair with a pink bow wrapped around it is delivered to Annie’s room. Mrs. Broadfield instructs Annie on how to use it and lets her practice in the room. Exciting stuff.
Morning arrives and Tony brings Annie a dress that once belonged to Heaven for her to wear. Annie feels it is out of style but agrees to wear it. With that, they head out of the hospital and out to the limo where Tony holds her a little longer than necessary before putting her in the car so they can all begin toward Farthinggale Manor.
Tony does some reminiscing about Heaven on the way to Farthy. Annie is surprised at how unkempt the place looks when they arrive. Tony doesn’t seem to notice at all. Annie’s pretending is beginning to make a lot more sense considering she has descended from one of the best pretenders.
Annie has to see the fairy tale mural Jillian created in the living room, though it has faded a lot over the years. Tony tells Annie of how he met and fell in love with Jillian in the same way he told Heaven. You know, those shapely legs of Jillian’s! Annie gets Tony to promise to tell her everything that happened here, including the reason her mother was so angry with him that she never returned. Oh sweetie.
Then they take Annie upstairs to the rooms that used to belong to her mother when she first stayed there. Mrs. Broadfield helps Annie get set up in the bedroom. She tries to talk about how bad the grounds and condition of the building are looking but Mrs. Broadfield doesn’t seem to really care.
After Mrs. Broadfield leaves the room, Annie notices there is no phone and screams. While Mrs. Broadfield has been less than appealing as a person to me, I do share her reaction in Annie’s panic about the phone not being there.
Annie demands for Tony, who tells her it was part of the doctor’s orders and that she can still have visitors. After Tony and her nurse leaves, Annie thinks of how her mother and grandmother must have felt in this room. Very similar almost to how Heaven thought about her mother in this room.
Annie falls asleep and when she wakes, Drake comes to visit. When she tries to bring up Luke, he doesn’t seem to want to talk about him. Finally he admits that he went to see Luke but found him kissing another girl at the time. I’m pretty sure this is a lie meant to break Annie’s trust with Luke—and her heart. Wonder if Tony has been mentoring him?
Even Annie can tell that Tony has Drake wrapped around his finger. Very similar to how Tony did the same thing with Logan. After Drake leaves, Tony visits and behaves strangely, confusing the present with the past again. He mentions repairing the pool so Annie can swim and that she can ride Scuttles soon.
Poor Annie is so confused. After, she is given a hot bath by Mrs. Broadfield, who seems to linger a little too long on massaging parts of Annie’s body. Oooookay. Is everyone in this book a pervert?
After her bath, Annie wheels herself to her window so she can see her parents’ monument. She is surprised when a tall, thin man kneels before it, making her wonder who he is.
Tony later finds Annie asleep in her wheelchair by the window. He wakes her and they get into the subject of pretending. He is creepy again, holding her for too long and whispering Heaven’s name. Annie goes back to sleep and is woken later by her maid, Millie, who brings her dinner.
After dinner, Annie asks if Millie would send the cook, Rye Whiskey, up soon. Mrs. Broadfield comes in and scowls when she sees that he gave Annie a small piece of chocolate cake instead of Jell-o. She seems very distraught about it and takes the cake away.
Soon after, Rye Whiskey arrives with the Jell-o and introduces himself to Annie. He talks about her mother and of course has to mention his ghosts. Especially the one who plays the piano.
When Annie asks about Scuttles, Rye remembers that it is the name of the pony Jillian used to have back in Texas. He tells Annie about Abdulla Bar and how Troy Tatterton rode that horse into the ocean. People here sure do like to talk about Troy’s “suicide.”
Tony comes in and seems amused that Rye has come up. When Rye leaves, he seems upset that he wasn’t the one who sent him. Tony and Annie talk about their families. He also reluctantly tells Annie about Troy.
Before he leaves the room, he tells Annie that he will be installing a television for her tomorrow and that he has made a list of books for her to read. He will also underline some of the better TV programs. Annie seems somewhat offended that Tony thinks she has bad taste.
Later, Annie decides to write a letter to Luke and asks Millie if she would give it to Tony so he can fill out the address and stamp it.
Next, Tony fires Millie, Annie starts to feel pain in her legs, and she also gets a television in her room.
