# XXVII: Amy Belden explained — The Leavenworth Case

> Chapter companion for The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green.

## What happens

The narrator travels to R⸺ to meet Mrs. Amy Belden, a widow who may hold secrets related to the case. With the help of his client Mr. Monell, he gains entry into her home by posing as a lodger. He observes her suspicious behavior at the post-office and her reluctance to take him in, deepening his suspicion that she is hiding something.

## Themes in this chapter

### Secrecy and Truth

Mrs. Belden's furtive behavior with the letters and her reluctance to accept the narrator as a lodger hint at hidden knowledge or involvement in the case.

### Appearance vs. Reality

Mrs. Belden appears as a respectable, charitable widow, but her actions suggest a hidden agenda, challenging the narrator's initial impression.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Arrives in R⸺ and uses Mr. Monell to gain access to Mrs. Belden's home under the pretense of needing lodging.

### Mr. Monell

The narrator's client in R⸺; he helps arrange the narrator's stay at Mrs. Belden's house and provides background information about her.

### Amy Belden

A widow living in R⸺; she is observed hiding letters at the post-office and shows hesitation about taking the narrator as a lodger, suggesting she may be concealing something.

## Key lines

> I had a client in R⸺ by the name of Monell; and it was from him I had planned to learn the best way of approaching Mrs. Belden.

The narrator intended to use his client Mr. Monell to find out how to get close to Mrs. Belden.

_Establishes the narrator's strategic approach to investigating Mrs. Belden._

> Among these, for some reason, I especially noted one middle-aged woman; why, I cannot say; her appearance was anything but remarkable. And yet when she came out, with two letters in her hand, one in a large and one in a small envelope, and meeting my eye hastily drew them under her shawl, I found myself wondering what was in her letters and who she could be, that the casual glance of a stranger should unconsciously move her to an action so suspicious.

The narrator noticed a woman at the post-office who hid her letters when she saw him, sparking his suspicion.

_Highlights the narrator's keen observation and the first hint of Mrs. Belden's secretive behavior._

> I don't know, sir; I would be glad, but... the fact is, I have not taken lodgers of late, and I have got out of the way of the whole thing, and am afraid I cannot make him comfortable.

Mrs. Belden hesitated to accept the narrator as a lodger, claiming she was out of practice.

_Shows her reluctance and possible attempt to avoid scrutiny._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_leavenworth_case_se/chapters/xxvii-amy-belden
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_leavenworth_case_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_leavenworth_case_se/chapters