Chapters 6-11 Summary
As Adam and Amelia Wright arrive in Scotland for a make-or-break anniversary weekend, long-held secrets and simmering resentments threaten to boil over. Through a series of anniversary letters, the narrative reveals the couple's history, juxtaposing their once-happy past with their increasingly hostile present. A mysterious figure watching the chapel adds a layer of suspense, suggesting that the greatest threat may come from outside their troubled marriage.
Chapter 6: Paper
Presented as Amelia Wright's anniversary letter to Adam Wright on February 28, 2009, this chapter reflects on their first year of marriage. Amelia details their financial struggles and Adam's stalled screenwriting career. She supports him by reading books on storytelling and editing his work, keeping her efforts a secret from him. The letter's main event centers on a turning point in Adam's career. Seeing a news headline about the death of reclusive author Henry Winter's agent, Amelia urges Adam to adapt one of Winter's novels. To encourage him, she gives him a paper origami crane, symbolizing good luck. That afternoon, Adam is summoned to meet Winter and secures the rights to adapt The Doppelganger. Amelia then confesses she has a new secret she can never share: Winter only agreed to meet Adam because of her, a truth she fears would destroy their marriage.
Chapter 7: Amelia
Back in the present at the chapel in Scotland, Adam discovers a trapdoor leading to a wine cellar. He emerges with a bottle of 2008 red wine, and he and Amelia share a drink by the fire. Amelia feels a fleeting sense of contentment, but reflects on how affection has disappeared from their relationship. Her internal monologue reveals the depth of their marital problems, acknowledging that this trip is a final attempt to salvage their relationship. The chapter ends ominously as Amelia thinks to herself that if things don't go according to plan, "only one of us will be going home."
Chapter 8: Adam
The perspective shifts to Adam as he sits by the fire, reflecting on his career and Henry Winter's significant role, viewing the author as a surrogate father figure. Amelia interrupts his thoughts, accusing him of being distant. The conversation becomes tense, highlighting their inability to communicate without conflict. Adam takes the crumpled paper crane from his wallet, reminiscing about showing it to Henry Winter during their first meeting. Amelia dismisses his story with boredom, then snatches the crane and throws it into the fire, telling him he spends too much time living in the past. Horrified, Adam retrieves the singed paper bird. This act solidifies his own secret, grim intentions for the weekend.
Chapter 9: Cotton
This chapter is Amelia's second anniversary letter, dated February 28, 2010. The tone is joyful and optimistic. Adam's career has flourished since the Henry Winter adaptation, and their financial situation has improved. For their anniversary, Adam surprises Amelia with a large, derelict Victorian house in Hampstead Village. Despite the house being a "fixer-upper," Amelia is ecstatic, seeing it as their "forever home." Adam has set up a romantic scene in one of the bedrooms with Egyptian cotton sheets and champagne. The letter is full of love and hope, with Amelia expressing her excitement to renovate the house and start their family. This glimpse into their happy past emphasizes the theme of The Inescapable Past.
Chapter 10: Amelia
Back in the present, immediately following the paper crane incident, Amelia apologizes. She then unleashes her frustrations, telling Adam she feels "unlikable, and unloved, and invisible." In a surprising turn, Adam comforts her, holds her, and kisses her passionately. Feeling a glimmer of hope, Amelia suggests they go to bed, but Adam proposes another glass of wine first. She goes to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle. As she stands in the cold kitchen, she notices the unusual stained-glass windows, which depict a series of faces instead of religious scenes. Her brief sense of peace is shattered when she realizes one of the faces is real—a pale face is staring in at her from the darkness. She screams.
Chapter 11: Adam
Adam rushes into the kitchen to find Amelia terrified and a broken wine bottle on the floor. She insists there was someone outside the window. Adam is skeptical, suggesting her imagination, the creepy house, and the wine might be playing tricks on her. His disbelief angers her, and they argue again. Their dog, Bob, begins growling menacingly at the front chapel doors. His behavior convinces Adam that something might be wrong. Despite Amelia's terrified pleas for him to stay inside, Adam decides to investigate. He puts on his coat, leashes the growling dog, and opens the heavy doors to the raging snowstorm. As he peers into the pitch-black night, he sees why the dog is so agitated: "Just outside, no more than a few feet away, there are several pairs of eyes staring at us."
Key Events
- Amelia's Secret: The first anniversary letter reveals that Amelia secretly engineered Adam's career-making meeting with Henry Winter.
- The Paper Crane Incident: In a fit of rage, Amelia throws Adam's lucky paper crane—a symbol of their past happiness and success—into the fire. Adam rescues it, but the act serves as a final straw for him.
- The Hopeful Past: The second anniversary letter contrasts sharply with the present, showing the couple at their happiest, buying their dream home.
- The Face in the Window: The domestic tension is interrupted by an external threat when Amelia sees a mysterious person staring at her through the kitchen window.
- The Eyes in the Dark: The section ends on a cliffhanger as Adam goes outside to investigate and is confronted by multiple pairs of eyes in the darkness.
Character Development
- Amelia Wright: The letters reveal her as a deeply invested and proactive partner, but also one capable of profound Secrets and Deception. In the present, her resentment has curdled into a destructive anger and a chilling resolve. She is a complex mix of victim and aggressor.
- Adam Wright: Adam is shown to be trapped by his past successes and nostalgic for a happier time, symbolized by the paper crane. He feels misunderstood and suffocated by Amelia. Her actions push him over the edge, cementing a dark plan he has for the weekend.
- Henry Winter: Introduced through the letters as a pivotal, almost mythical figure in Adam's life. He is a reclusive genius who becomes Adam's mentor and father figure. Amelia's secret adds a layer of mystery to his motivations.
Themes & Symbols
The themes of Marriage and Betrayal are prominent as the chapters juxtapose the loving past of the anniversary letters with the toxic present. Amelia throwing the paper crane is a symbolic act of betrayal, destroying a shared emblem of their love and success. Both characters are now hiding their deadly intentions for the weekend from each other.
The paper crane symbolizes their early love, hope, and the luck that launched Adam's career. Its near-destruction represents the near-total destruction of their marriage. Adam saving it shows he cannot fully let go of the past. The creepy, converted chapel, isolated by a snowstorm, mirrors the state of Adam and Amelia's marriage: cold, claustrophobic, and cut off from help. The introduction of an outside threat amplifies this sense of entrapment.
Significance
These chapters are crucial for establishing the novel's central conflict and structure. The dual timeline created by the anniversary letters provides essential backstory while generating dramatic irony, as the reader learns secrets the characters do not share. The narrative masterfully shifts from a psychological drama about a failing marriage to a tense thriller with the introduction of the mysterious watcher. The paper crane incident serves as the inciting incident for the present-day conflict, pushing both Adam and Amelia past a point of no return and locking them into their respective deadly plans.
Analysis
Alice Feeney uses several literary techniques to build suspense and develop character in this section.
We weave our lives out of threads of opportunity and stitches of chance, nobody wants a future full of holes. But I worry that if you knew Henry Winter only trusted you with his book because of me, it might be the end of us.
This quote from Amelia's first letter encapsulates the novel's core themes. The use of the epistolary format (the letters) is a masterful stroke. It allows Feeney to deliver exposition naturally while simultaneously characterizing Amelia and creating immense dramatic irony. The reader is made complicit in Amelia's secret, creating a tension that hangs over every present-day interaction between the couple.
The narrative relies heavily on unreliable narration. Both Adam and Amelia present events through the filter of their own pain and resentment. Their internal monologues reveal their justifications for their actions, but neither can be fully trusted. This forces the reader to question every motive and piece together the "truth" from two biased accounts, a key element of the theme of Identity and Misperception.
Finally, Feeney's control of pacing is evident. The slow, simmering resentment of the domestic scenes explodes with Amelia's violent act of throwing the crane. This is immediately followed by the introduction of an external threat—the face in the window and the eyes in the dark—which abruptly accelerates the pace and broadens the scope of the danger, leaving the reader on a tense cliffhanger.