The Magnolia Palace

Lillian returns to the Frick mansion from her meeting with the producer. She has now lost both a potential acting career and a potential husband. She sees Mr. Graham and begins to cry. He pulls her into the organ room so that she can calm down. They talk about Helen’s art library, and it is here in the organ room that Lillian begins to think about a new career as a librarian.

Helen is with Mr. Frick and refuses to believe that he is dying. Richard arrives to speak to Helen, but she sends a reluctant Lillian downstairs with a message. Upon seeing Lillian, Richard demands to know why she broke off their relationship. When he presses her, she shows him the sculpture above the entrance to the house and reveals that she is Angelica. She tells him that she posed for the statue he noticed that day he walked her partway home from his place (in Chapter 9).

Mr. Graham appears before Richard has time to respond, saying that Helen is asking for her. Richard is awkward, and when he leaves, Lillian realizes that their relationship is over. Although she is upset, she knows that she did the right thing.

Helen is angry. She has discovered that Lillian was paid to facilitate her engagement. Lillian asks her to reconsider whether marriage is what she wants, reminding her of the life she has made for herself with the collection. Helen becomes excited, thinking of the two of them working together on the library, and Lillian agrees.

Early the next morning, Lillian is summoned by Helen to Mr. Frick’s bedroom. He asks for water, and Lillian hands Helen a half-full glass from the bathroom. As Lillian watches them together, she decides that she will be there for Helen in her grief, as no one was there for her when Kitty died. Soon after he drinks the water, Mr. Frick dies.

Lillian arranges the viewing and funeral. Helen plans to bury the cameo and the diamond with her father. Lillian suggests that they sell the diamond and donate the money to charity, but Helen refuses. She also tells Lillian that she plans to marry Richard because her father wanted it. Lillian realizes that if Richard comes back to the family, she will have to leave.

That afternoon, while the family is at its private viewing, Helen puts the cameo into her father’s hands. Lillian is the only person to see. Later that evening, when the family gathers again for the public viewing, Helen discovers that the cameo is gone; it is no longer in her father’s hands.

The family travels to Pittsburgh, where Mr. Frick will be buried. Lillian stays at the mansion, where the staff is still searching for the cameo. Lillian busies herself with work. One day, Mr. Graham comes to get his paycheck and to ask if the family will be firing him now that Mr. Frick is dead. He warns her to be careful, but when he tries to explain, she thinks he is threatening her. Lillian worries that Mr. Graham, like Richard, knows that she is Angelica; therefore, both men are a threat to her.

Childs objects to the contents of the will, which give Helen the bulk of the estate and leave small sums to Childs and Mrs. Frick. Childs is angry and reveals that a sedative was found in the water Helen gave her father. Lillian remembers handing it to Helen from where it had been sitting on the sink. Helen remembers as well and looks at Lillian accusingly.

Veronica and Joshua are shocked by the woman who runs at them. She demands to know why they are in her house, and Joshua explains. The woman, Helen Frick, stayed the previous night in the library next door—the Frick Art Reference Library. She tells them that there is a secret door between the two buildings.

Helen takes them into the library to reference employee records and confirm whether Joshua and Veronica are there legitimately. She finds Joshua’s employment record, but when she asks Veronica’s name, she is upset at her German last name, Weber; Helen’s experience in World War I has left her with an aversion to Germans. She wants to kick Veronica out, but Joshua distracts Helen with what they’ve found in the scavenger hunt.

They show her the clues and explain how they solved the mystery. They all return to the art gallery, where Joshua opens the first compartment and shows Helen the watch fob with the magnolia. Then he shows her the cameo, and Helen is shocked because she had always believed that Lillian took it. When Helen opens the back of the cameo, the diamond is not there. Veronica is afraid she is about to get caught.

Childs has hired a private agent, Mr. DeWitt, to investigate his father’s death. Most of the family comes to believe Lillian is the murderer, reasoning that she stole the diamond to replace the money Mr. Frick was to have paid her. However, Helen refuses to believe Lillian would commit murder. DeWitt announces that he will interview the staff, and the meeting breaks up.

Lillian returns to her room, terrified, and Helen follows, telling her that she knows Lillian is innocent. They wonder who put the sedative in the water. Before Helen leaves, she sees love letters that Richard sent Lillian and reads them. After angrily asserting that Lillian deceived her from the beginning, Helen decides that Lillian did steal the cameo and murder her father.

Lillian goes to bed that night sure that she will be arrested in the morning. Unable to sleep, she wanders the house and finds a footman posted by the front door. He tells her that no one is allowed to leave, and Lillian realizes that the only way to prove her innocence is to solve the crimes.

The next morning, she is summoned by the family. DeWitt reveals her Angelica identity to the family, and Lillian suspects that Mr. Graham told him. The agent is ready to take her to the police, but the Fricks want to delay for a day so that they can leave New York and avoid the scandal. He agrees, and they lock Lillian in her room for the night.