Part 2 begins with Tom and Jake Kennedy arriving at their new home in Featherbank. Tom at first finds the house’s strange character ominous, and inside, he feels as though they’re not alone. However, Jake is excited about the new home and marvels that it’s theirs, which calms Tom down.

Later, Tom unpacks his books to set up his office; Rebecca always nudged him toward unpacking books right away to make a house feel like home. Tom has a more complicated feeling about the books he’s written, which Rebecca made him display; he hasn’t written a single word in a year.

Tom hears a creaking noise that unnerves him but decides that it’s house settling. He then goes looking for Jake, stopping on the way to look at the mail previous tenants that needs sorting. (The previous owner, Mrs. Shearing, had for years rented the house.) He opens mail for a Dominic Barnett to see that it’s a collection notice. Jake appears with a drawing but is reluctant to show it to Tom. When he relents, Tom sees that it’s a picture of the house, and in the bedroom window is a drawing of Jake and a young girl with “[a] corkscrew smile on her face” (47).