By early November, Lilian has made good progress towards rebinding the book that Ashburn has commissioned and feels proud of her work. Caxton tells her that he has learned that Edmund Grieves is a London bookseller with a somewhat bad reputation for pressuring collectors to sell. Lilian expresses her eagerness to travel to London and meet Grieves but realizes that when she is not working for her apprenticeship, she helps her father in the bookshop (leaving her with no free time to travel). Caxton offers to send Lilian to deliver some newly bound books to London, giving her the opportunity to visit Grieves while she is there.

In London, Lilian delivers the books and heads to Grieves’s shop. Outside, she notices a man in a bowler hat watching her. Inside, she meets Grieves and his young assistant Charlie. She is startled when Grieves seems very uncomfortable talking about A Song for a Knave and states that “those books are cursed” (56). He admits he sold one other book by Abel Bell but claims to have no record of information about either book. He also doesn’t know if Bell wrote and published others. He tells Lilian to get rid of her copy and not investigate the books further.

Leaving the shop, Lilian is attacked by the bowler-hatted man. Although she fights back, he steals her bag (containing the burned book). Lilian’s cries have attracted a crowd, including Charlie. Charlie pursues her assailant and recovers the bag with the book intact. He offers to take Lilian for a drink to help her recover.

At a nearby pub, Lilian tells Charlie the full story of the burned book, the letter, and her investigation. Charlie reveals that Grieves formerly had three books by Abel Bell in the shop (not two). An unknown buyer paid Grieves to find all the books written by Bell but the arrangement soured. Left with three books, Grives sold one, sent one to Ashburn, and the third book remains in the shop. Charlie offers to retrieve it for her in exchange for a date. He explains that Grieves won’t miss it, as he has already placed it in a box alongside a larger shipment (hoping to dispose of it in the same way as he disposed of A Song for a Knave). Lilian agrees to return to London in two days to get the book from Charlie and go on their date.

On the train home, she discovers the hidden letter is missing from the burned book.

Lilian searches her satchel in vain, concluding the thief took the letter during the short time the book was in his possession (this means he must have known what to look for). Outside her home in Oxford, Harry (her former sweetheart) startles her. He notices the injuries she sustained when she was robbed, and he becomes alarmed and protective. She deflects, promising to explain the next day over lunch. Inside, she finds further evidence of her father’s debt and the precarious financial state of their business.

The next day, Lilian cuts her finger at work while distractedly thinking of Harry and Charlie. Caxton bandages her and asks about her visit to Grieves. Lilian lies and says that Grieves has commissioned her to rebind one of his books, and that she must return to London the following day to pick it up. Caxton believes her but cautions not to neglect the project she is working on for Ashburn. When Harry arrives to take Lilian to lunch, she declines, claiming she has too much to do. In reality, she does not want to reveal the story of the strange events that unfolded in London. Harry becomes angry, feeling frustrated that nothing has changed since the end of their relationship. When he storms off, Caxton cautions Lilian that “books are a poor substitute for love” (74).

The next day, Lilian travels back to London, this time leaving the burned book at home and carrying a small knife in case she needs to defend herself.

Lilian meets Charlie, who gives her the book: He Sings His Devotion, by Abel Bell, published in 1850 by Montague and Cliff in Manchester. Charlie reveals that he has worked in Grieves’s shop for about a year. Grieves already had the first book by Bell when Charlie started in the shop, and the other two followed shortly. Charlie doesn’t know anything about the buyer, who corresponded only by letter. Both Lilian and Charlie are confused why anyone would be so insistent on acquiring the Bell books, since they are seemingly unremarkable and not valuable.

Charlie explains further: about six months ago, the buyer became angry when Grieves was not successful at finding the remaining titles written by Bell. The relationship soured. Someone Grieves was close to died, although Charlie doesn’t know the details. Grieves stopped collecting and refused to send the three books to the buyer. Lilian and Charlie change topics and spend hours drinking and getting to know one another. By the time they leave, Lilian misses the last train. She returns with Charlie to his lodgings, where they have sex.

Lilian wakes late and rushes back to Oxford. She finds her father, Caxton, the gossiping neighbor Mrs. Hawes, and a local police officer gathered at the shop. She explains that she missed the last train but senses that no one thinks it is appropriate for her to have spent the night in London alone. Her erratic behavior, seemingly unexplained injuries, and vague explanations leave everyone suspicious. She puts the new Abel Bell book away, angry with the disruption these books have caused in her life.

That night, however, her curiosity overcomes her and Lilian dissects the new book. Hidden in the binding, she finds five pages of delicate paper covered in handwriting. The pages are numbered and indicate that the five pages she holds are part of a larger document; each page also has a different set of initials. She finds the same symbol with five dots, but this time a different one is missing. Based on the position, Lilian speculates that the dots might indicate that this is the third book in a total of six (and that A Song by a Knave is the first).

The pages recount first-hand the story of an young English woman (revealed later in the novel to be named Isabel). Isabel is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy and powerful, but self-made, lord. Her father aspires to use her as a pawn to consolidate wealth and power via an advantageous marriage. In 1851, 18-year-old Isabel officially begins participating in the social rituals of the London season. However, one night, accompanied by her maid Daisy, she sneaks into a theatre instead. Isabel meets a handsome young man named William Heathfield (the recipient of the letters). William is carrying a book by Abel Bell (an author whom Isabel is initially not familiar with).

William and Isabel flirt and realize they will both be soon attending the same event (the Henley regatta), providing hope they will see each other again. Isabel returns home elated by the chance meeting; the narrative breaks off with her recollection that this first meeting is now a treasured memory, since her and William’s lives have become much darker.

Lilian is more intrigued by the mystery than ever. She suspects whoever wanted Grieves to obtain the full set of Bell books actually wanted the letters contained within them. Lilian seals the book back up, keeping the letters separate.

Lilian considers returning to London to see Charlie and seek information about the other Bell book (the one that Grieves sold). Back at Caxton’s workshop, he asks about the book she claimed she was picking up from Grieves to rebind (this was her justification for the second trip to London); when Lilian attempts to lie again, Caxton tells her that “I understand the desire to live without consequences or thinking […] actions do have consequences” (99). He also reveals that he is planning to leave his bookbinding business to her since he has no children or heirs.

Feeling chastised, Lilian tells Caxton everything about the two strange books, being attacked by the man in the bowler hat, and the mysterious letters she has discovered. She swears she is going to put aside the mystery and focus on her work. For a few days, Lilian stays true to her promises: She finishes the project commissioned by Ashburn and prepares for a meeting with Frank Karslake, head of the Guild of Women Binders.