The Luminaries

The events of Part 3 take place on March 20, 1866. The first chapter of this section opens with Moody going to his claim near town to pan for gold. By this time, he has learned that Carver is spending his nights at the Crown Hotel, not at the Palace Hotel. Moody finds Sook camping on his claim. He tells Sook where to find Carver and which store he can buy a gun from. Then, Sook leaves.

Lydia Wells leaves the Wayfarer’s Fortune Hotel in the morning to go to the courthouse and learn about her claim on Crosbie Wells’s estate. After she leaves, Devlin enters the Wayfarer’s Fortune and talks to Anna alone. They discuss Lydia’s engagement to Carver, which had been announced in the paper that day, despite Lauderback having admitted to their affair publicly. Devlin shows Anna the unsigned contract of a gift of 2,000 pounds from Staines to Anna that Devlin had found in Crosbie’s cottage. Anna forges Staines’s signature on the document. Devlin asks Anna about Lydia’s gold-laden dresses. She admits she had some idea about the dresses being Lydia’s, but she says she didn’t know about the