The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Meanwhile, George Papadimitriou is in his quarters in Jordan College with Lord Nugent, looking out on the flood. They are waiting for a traveler named Bud Schlesinger to arrive from the north, where he visited the witches to learn what he could about Lyra’s importance. However, the two men are surprised to see Hannah Relf struggling through the water below the college. They hurry her inside and warm her up. She tells them that there has been a tragedy at the priory; several parts of the building have collapsed, and seven nuns have drowned. She tells them that Lyra is missing, but so is Malcolm, Alice, and his canoe, suggesting they all fled together. Hannah also mentions Bonneville and Malcolm’s fear of the man.

Lord Nugent tells Hannah that Bonneville used to be an expert on elementary particles and researched the Rusakov field. He argued that Dust was the elementary particle associated with the Ruskov field and suggested that “everything is material and that matter itself is conscious” (284), invoking the fury of the Magisterium. He was then imprisoned for a sexual offense that somehow involved Mrs. Coulter. Hannah is telling the men about Mrs. Coulter’s visit to her house when Bud Schlesinger arrives. Bud tells the assembled that the witches in the north heard voices in the aurora that said Lyra “was destined to put an end to destiny” (285). The Magisterium learned of the prophecy and set out to find the child. Bonneville, disgraced and freshly out of prison, agreed to hunt Lyra down in exchange for a new laboratory and the opportunity to resume his studies.

Papadimitriou concludes that Bonneville must be chasing Malcolm and Alice. Bud adds that he also heard the witches speak about a boy who “had to carry a treasure to a place of safety” (287). They agree this could refer to Malcolm, and Hannah suggests the boy would try to get Lyra to Jordan College to seek scholastic sanctuary or, if the waters were too strong, to Lord Asriel in London. Lord Nugent immediately sets off, gathering a fleet of boats to search for the missing children.

In the middle of the flood, Malcolm steers La Belle Sauvage toward London. However, their journey is soon disrupted by the appearance of a dinghy behind them, containing Bonneville and his hyena dæmon. Malcolm paddles faster but knows they must stop soon to hide and care for Lyra. He sees a house in the distance and moves toward it. When they arrive, they are greeted by a drunk man who tries to warn them off. Alice explains that they must feed and change the baby, and the man reluctantly agrees. While she starts heating water, Malcolm flatters the man, complementing his house. He tells him that someone is following them who will want to fight the man for his beautiful home. This upsets the man, but the man asks more questions about Bonneville’s relationship with them. Using fake names, Malcolm tells the man that Bonneville is after Lyra, insinuating nefarious intent with the baby. The drunk man gets his shotgun to defend them from Bonneville. As Bonneville comes into view, Malcolm hurries inside. He updates Alice, then sneaks out to look again. He is alarmed to see the drunk man lying in the water, unmoving. Bonneville and the gun are missing.

Panicking, Malcolm rushes back to Alice. He finds a trap door on the kitchen floor and ushers Alice and Lyra into the cellar. Malcolm is sure the cellar has a second entrance and finds it quickly. However, he is alarmed to hear Bonneville’s voice on the other side of the door. He taunts Malcolm, telling him that the former owner of the house was called Lord Murderer and brought his child victims to the cellar, where he dismembered them. Malcolm is unsure if he should believe that these tortured children haunt the cellar but is terrified. However, he speaks confidently, trying to keep Bonneville distracted as he mouths to Alice to go back up the trap door.

Malcolm rushes outside, snatching a knife from the kitchen on his way. He unties Bonneville’s dingy, but before he shoves it into the current, he pulls the man’s rucksack out and slings it over his back. He and Alice pull the canoe out of its hiding place when they hear the hyena’s laugh behind them. Bonneville approaches, armed with the dead man’s shotgun. He demands Lyra, but Malcolm continues to hold her tight. He keeps talking to distract the man, and when Bonneville comes close enough, he stabs him in the leg with the kitchen knife. Alice seizes the shotgun and shoots Bonneville’s dæmon, destroying her remaining foreleg. As the two writhe in pain, the children escape in the canoe.

Traumatized by their ordeal, Malcolm and Alice wonder if Bonneville is dead. As they paddle along, they hear the sound of an electric engine behind them. Frightened and exhausted, they steer the canoe onto land again and hide in a patch of trees. A searchlight passes over them but then moves on, and Malcolm vomits from fear and relief. To Malcolm’s surprise, Alice comforts him, and he gets up to look for wood and start a fire. However, when he returns, he sees that the boat is returning. He and Alice are again frozen with fear when a man steps out of the trees. It is George Boatwright, who hasn’t been seen since his face off with the CCD in the Trout. He tells the children that the boat is the CCD and urges them to get the canoe further into the trees.

With La Belle Sauvage well hidden, Mr. Boatwright leads them deeper into the forest to a cave with a warm fire and a group of people hiding from the CCD for various infractions. Mr. Boatwright’s wife is there and helps them settle Lyra. Andrew, a boy around Malcolm’s age, shows Malcolm where to throw the rubbish, but Malcolm is too exhausted to make conversation. He and Alice eat stew while Mrs. Boatwright feeds Lyra, and they immediately fall asleep. Lyra wakes them at dawn, crying softly. Malcolm and Alice change her, and Asta points out that Andrew isn’t in the cave. Malcolm suggests that he may sleep somewhere else, but as the morning progresses, he starts worrying.

When Andrew’s aunt wakes up, she mentions her nephew always talks about “that bloody league” (327), and Malcolm understands at once that they are in danger. He tells Alice they must leave immediately, but before they can escape, their way is blocked by four uniformed men, followed by Andrew. Chaos ensues. Malcolm is hit on the head, Mr. Boatwright is knocked unconscious, and the men snatch Lyra away.

Malcolm is nauseous and dizzy from the blow to his head, but he is filled with rage and tries to get up anyway. He attacks Andrew, hitting him in the face and making him cry, demanding to know who took Lyra and where they went. A man steps in to say that he recognized the uniforms and believes the men are from the Security of the Holy Spirit and guard a priory in Wallingford. Another woman chimes in, saying she used to work at the priory known as the Sisters of Holy Obedience. She says the nuns look after children there, but they are so “stern and cruel” that the woman left the job. Andrew finally admits that he went to the Office of Child Protection in the priory and reported Malcolm, Alice, and Lyra because he felt suspicious about the two of them having a baby in their care.

Malcolm interrogates Andrew, but his head injury still makes it difficult for him to move. He tries to get up and is almost sick again, so Alice tells him to rest, calling him “Mal.” Malcolm is surprised by this nickname and the gentleness in Alice’s voice, and he takes the drinks she offers and falls asleep. When he wakes, Malcolm learns everything he can about the priory, and he and Alice slip away to the canoe when no one is watching and set off to rescue Lyra. As they sail through the moonlight, the spangled ring in Malcolm’s vision returns, and in the center of it, he sees the white priory situated high on a hill.

As they approach the priory, Malcolm spots an overflow drain. Hopeful that it will lead to a kitchen, Alice waits in the canoe while Malcolm climbs up the narrow tunnel. It’s wet and freezing, and he scrapes his hands and knees as he climbs. When he reaches the end, he sees a grate blocking the drain and almost panics. However, Asta helps him find a hinge where the grate opens for cleaning, and they tumble into a scullery room. Malcolm is shivering so hard he worries he won’t be able to keep quiet, but luckily, there is a fire lit, and he warms himself for a moment. He also finds an empty box, which he fills with towels for Lyra. He and Asta hurry out of the scullery but are almost thwarted immediately by a passing line of nuns. Malcolm convinces them he is up because he wet his bed, and the nuns send him off for fresh sheets with disgust. He hurries off and finds a room filled with cribs. He and Asta peer at one baby after another, but before they find Lyra, the door opens, and Malcolm flings himself under a crib to hide. Footsteps stop before a bed, and a man’s voice asks if the nun is sure the child is Lord Ariel’s. The nun agrees, and the man says he will take the child with him in the morning despite her protests.

When the two adults leave the room, Malcolm darts to the bed they referenced and reaches for the child but realizes at the last minute that it is not Lyra; the nun lied to the visitor. He and Asta finally locate the right child. Lyra has been drugged, and she and Pan don’t stir as Malcolm picks her up and tiptoes back to the scullery. He puts her in the box and climbs back through the freezing drain. Alice is waiting for them. She takes Lyra, wraps Malcolm in blankets, and gives him a bit of bread and cheese as he begins to paddle away.