CHAPTER 3 — The Secret Inside the Library
Lucy believed she would never see Matthew again.
The next afternoon, however, the estate manager knocked on the servants' cottage.
"The young master asked for you."
Her mother nearly fainted.
Lucy followed the manager into the mansion.
Instead of the ballroom, Matthew waited inside the enormous library.
Rows of books surrounded them.
A telescope stood beside the window.
"I come here when people become too loud," he signed.
Lucy smiled.
"So this is your safe place."
Matthew nodded.
He showed her sketches of satellites, bridges, robots, and inventions.
Nobody had ever seen them.
Not even Alexander.
Lucy stared in amazement.
"You're brilliant."
Matthew looked away.
"My father thinks I'm fragile."
Lucy shook her head.
"No."
She signed firmly.
"He just doesn't know you."
Those words stayed with Matthew long after she left.
Outside the library...
Alexander had unknowingly heard every sign through the interpreter his security team quietly carried.
May you like
For the first time...
The words hurt.
