The Circular Staircase · Chapter
II: A Link Cuff-Button explained
After a terrifying first night at Sunnyside, Rachel Innes and Liddy Allen are unnerved by strange noises and a mysterious figure at the window.
What happens
After a terrifying first night at Sunnyside, Rachel Innes and Liddy Allen are unnerved by strange noises and a mysterious figure at the window. Liddy insists it was a man in a long coat, not a woman. The lights go out at midnight, and a metallic clatter echoes through the house. Rachel discovers a small pearl-and-ruby cufflink in a linen hamper blocking the east-wing stairs, which she recognizes as not belonging to Halsey. She hires a new housekeeper, Anne Watson, and decides to investigate further despite her fears.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Liddy initially thinks the figure at the window is a woman, but later insists it was a man in a long coat, highlighting deceptive appearances.
Isolation and Vulnerability
Rachel and Liddy feel trapped and vulnerable in the dark, empty house, with no help nearby.
Characters to notice
- Rachel Innes
Narrator and protagonist; she investigates the strange occurrences and finds the cufflink.
- Liddy Allen
Rachel's nervous maid; she is terrified by the events and insists the figure was a man.
- Thomas Johnson
The caretaker who arrives in the morning to open the house.
- Anne Watson
Newly hired housekeeper; she is described as capable with snapping black eyes.
Key passages
“Liddy’s knees seemed to give away under her. Without a sound she sank down, leaving me staring at the window in petrified amazement.”
Liddy collapsed in fear, and Rachel stood frozen, staring at the window in shock.
The initial sighting of the mysterious figure at the window.
“It was a rattling metallic sound, and it reverberated along the empty halls like the crash of doom.”
A loud, metallic clatter echoed through the empty hallways, sounding ominous.
The strange noise that Rachel hears from the east wing.
“It was of Italian workmanship, and consisted of a mother-of-pearl foundation, encrusted with tiny seed-pearls, strung on horsehair to hold them. In the center was a small ruby.”
The cufflink was finely made, with a mother-of-pearl base, tiny seed-pearls, and a small ruby in the center.
Description of the cufflink found in the linen hamper.