Secrets shape the quiet tension in David’s heart as he returns from Sunnycrest, eager to speak with Jack about all he’s seen and felt. Yet only Jill is home, and though their earlier conversations had been shy and cautious, this time the air between them feels easier. Sitting under the open sky, David tells her about the Lady of the Roses and how Sunnycrest seems to sparkle in his mind like a page from a fairy tale. His delight dims when he hears Jack is away, “pot-boiling,” as Jill puts it—working hard at something he dislikes just to get by. Jill’s words slip out too easily, painting a picture of Jack’s ongoing illness and disappointment with life, which weighs on David more than he can admit. Still, he listens closely, storing each detail like a precious note in a song he wants to one day play for Jack—one that might lift him from the weight of things unspoken.

Trying to recover from her accidental candor, Jill changes the subject, but David circles back to what matters to him: the small gate by the brook and the footbridge leading to Sunnycrest. To David, that path isn’t just a walkway—it’s a thread between two lives that seem unjustly kept apart. When he hears that Jack forbids Jill from crossing it, he’s genuinely confused. In David’s world, beauty is meant to be shared, and hidden pathways are invitations, not barriers. He speaks earnestly of how Sunnycrest blooms with quiet joy, how the Lady of the Roses welcomed him, and how the whole place seems like a secret garden waiting to be understood. Jack’s refusal, though never explained, feels to David like a misunderstanding, one he hopes to resolve—not with arguments, but with music, kindness, and presence. The deeper truth, David suspects, is buried in something Jill cannot or will not say.

When Jack finally returns that evening, David seizes the moment not with questions, but with melodies. He plays his violin with a light that speaks louder than words, and Jack, exhausted yet enthralled, forgets his worries in the stream of notes. David’s music, drawn from memory rather than sheet music, spills out in tones that dance and ache with the joy of the day and the sadness of what’s held back. The absence of written scores is no hindrance—his fingers know the way like roots know the soil. Jack’s face, often tight with strain, softens. He hears not just tunes, but possibilities—the kind of work that comes from love, not labor. In those few quiet minutes, David’s dream finds fertile ground in Jack’s weary heart.

Jack, stirred by what he’s heard, speaks of helping David grow that dream. He wonders aloud about the cost, throwing out a sum—one hundred gold pieces—that could change everything. The moment hangs heavy for David, who knows he has that sum, carefully hidden. A surge of hope rises, but it’s quickly tangled by fear. What if Jack doesn’t believe him? What if the truth about the gold shifts how Jack sees him, or worse, makes the gift seem like a boast rather than an offering? The words remain locked behind David’s teeth. Instead, he nods and smiles, quietly tucking away the thought like a note not yet ready to be played.

Their conversation meanders gently back to Sunnycrest, and Jack’s tone stiffens. He speaks of it only when prompted, brushing off memories with practiced indifference. David, attuned to undercurrents, hears the notes behind the words—the kind that tremble with something left unresolved. Jack doesn’t need to say he’s been hurt; David can feel it in the hesitation between his sentences. Yet even so, David believes the bridge isn’t broken, only forgotten. He vows silently to keep nudging Jack toward it, not with pressure, but with presence—just as he does with his music. A bridge, after all, was made to be crossed.

As the evening draws to a close, David rests with the hum of dreams in his chest—dreams of notes once lost now slowly returning. Secrets hover around him, not as weights, but as songs waiting for the right moment to be sung. The chapter closes with a delicate balance of trust and silence, as David learns that timing, like music, depends as much on pause as it does on sound. Secrets remain, but the heart behind them begins to stir with courage. And in that, David’s world continues to grow, one truth at a time.