# III: Hidden Relics explained — Lady Audley’s Secret

> Chapter companion for Lady Audley’s Secret by M. E. Braddon.

## What happens

Phoebe Marks shows her cousin Luke around Audley Court while Lady Audley is out. Luke is awed by the opulence, and Phoebe discovers a secret drawer in Lady Audley's jewel casket containing a baby's shoe and a lock of hair, which she takes, hinting at a hidden secret.

## Themes in this chapter

### Secrecy and Deception

The hidden drawer containing a baby's shoe and lock of hair suggests a concealed past and deception within Lady Audley's life.

### Social Class and Ambition

Luke's envy of the jewels and Phoebe's ambition to secure a public house highlight class tensions and aspirations.

## Character check-ins

### Phoebe Marks

Lady Audley's maid, shows Luke the house and discovers the secret drawer.

### Luke Marks

Phoebe's cousin, a coarse and envious countryman who covets the jewels.

### Lady Audley

Absent from the house; her private apartments and secret drawer are explored.

## Key lines

> I declare! my lady has left her keys in her pocket for once in a way; I can show you the jewelry, if you like, Luke.

Phoebe is surprised to find Lady Audley's keys and offers to show Luke the jewelry.

_This moment of carelessness leads to the discovery of the secret drawer._

> Why, one of those diamond things would set us up in life, Phoebe.

Luke covets the diamonds, seeing them as a means to financial security.

_Reveals Luke's materialistic desires and the class divide._

> You will bear me witness where I found this.

Phoebe asks Luke to remember that she found the hidden items in the secret drawer.

_Foreshadows the importance of this evidence in uncovering Lady Audley's secret._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/iii-hidden-relics
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters