Garden of May - Chapter 16

Dialogue Transcript Garden of May — Chapter 16 80

RIVER...

VANESSA, THIS IS—

RIVER, MY...

MY BAG WAS STOLEN...

...WHAT?

SO YOU'RE SAYING YOUR BAG WAS STOLEN.

POLICE

YES...

IT WAS AT A STALL AT THE END OF THAT ALLEY.

IT MUST HAVE HAPPENED WHILE I WAS BROWSING...

IT'S A COMMON TACTIC WE'VE BEEN SEEING LATELY.

AND WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

IF I TELL THEM MY NAME,

THEY'LL CONTACT MY UNCLE.

THEO.

I'M WITH HER.

YOU CAN CONTACT ME HERE.

AH... ALL RIGHT.

WE'LL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS WE FIND ANYTHING.

THEO...

...AS IN THEODORE?

THAT NAME, THEO... IT'S SHORT FOR THEODORE, ISN'T IT?

WHEN ON EARTH DID YOU COME UP WITH A FAKE NAME?

HM?

THEODORE.

RIVER...?

WAIT—

RIVER...

NGH!

HAH...!

I WANT TO TOUCH THIS WOMAN.

TO PRESS OUR BODIES TOGETHER,

AND FEEL EACH OTHER'S HEARTBEATS.

RIGHT NOW.

EVEN IF ONLY FOR A FLEETING MOMENT...

HAA

WAIT, RIVER...!

N-NOT HERE...

HAA

RIVER.

RIVER!

RIVER?

RIVER

THEODORE.

RIVER--

RIVER!

ER.

RIVER.

RIVER?

PLEASE...

HAHH...

WHAT ON EARTH...

WHAT SORT OF LEWD FANTASIES WERE YOU HAVING, MY LADY?

WE MISSED THE CIRCUS AFTER ALL.

IF I'D KNOWN THE TICKETS WOULD SELL OUT THAT FAST, WE SHOULD'VE GONE SOONER.

IF YOU WERE THAT DISAPPOINTED, YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING.

A LITTLE EXTRA CASH WOULD'VE GOTTEN US IN.

Oh, Honestly.

IF YOU KEEP SPENDING MONEY SO THOUGHTLESSLY,

YOU'RE GOING TO GO BANKRUPT, RIVER.

AND ALL THOSE DESIGNER THINGS IN YOUR ROOM...

YOUR SPENDING HABITS REALLY AREN’T THAT GREAT.

IT’S HARD FOR COMMONERS TO SAVE UP MONEY, ISN’T IT?

Mary-often Says So, Too...

I SUPPOSE SO.

THIS IS NICE.

EVERYTHING IN THE MANOR IS SO SUFFOCATING.

SO MUCH SO THAT I JUST WANT TO

RUN AWAY SOMEWHERE.

I CAN’T STAND THIS DREADFUL PLACE ANYMORE.

ONCE I GET SETTLED, I PROMISE TO COME SEE YOU, THEODORE.

YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT MOMMY’S SAYING, DON’T YOU?

IN THE END, THIS WOMAN WILL BE NO DIFFERENT.

SO?

HMM?

YOU WANT ME TO HOLD YOUR HAND AND RUN AWAY WITH YOU?

Chapter Summary

Garden of May Chapter 16 opens with Vanessa's bag being stolen, leaving her facing the fear of her uncle being notified. As River accompanies her to the police station, someone named Theo vouches for her. Then Vanessa has an intense dream about desiring to touch River, and afterwards the two bicker about missing the circus and spending money, talking about wanting to escape the suffocating mansion.

Chapter Analysis Garden of May — Chapter 16

Garden of May Chapter 16 throws Vanessa into immediate vulnerability when her bag is stolen, turning a day out into a crisis of identity and exposure. Without her belongings, she is terrified less by the loss itself than by the bureaucratic consequence, that giving her real name at the police station could alert her greedy uncle and drag her back toward the arranged marriage she is desperate to escape. River staying beside her keeps the moment grounded, showing their partnership shifting from scandal-scheme into genuine protection. What makes Garden of May Chapter 16 so tense is how practical fear bleeds into repressed desire. The intervention of Theo, who vouches for her at the station, resolves the immediate danger but also underscores how precarious Vanessa's freedom is, dependent on other people's names and goodwill. That instability follows her into sleep, where she dreams intensely of wanting to touch River. The dream is not played as light romance, but as a confession she cannot make awake, revealing how much she craves closeness despite her plan to use scandal as a tool. Awake again, Vanessa and River fall back into bickering about missing the circus and spending money, yet the argument feels affectionate rather than bitter. Their talk of escaping the suffocating mansion connects the stolen bag, the police station scare, and the dream into one theme, the longing for a life not controlled by debt or family. Garden of May Chapter 16 leaves them still trapped, but emotionally closer and more honest about wanting out together.

Garden of May — Chapter 16

Dialogue Transcript

Chapter Analysis: Garden of May — Chapter 16