How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
'You know she's lying,' said June.
'I know,' August told her. 'But they're in some kind of trouble and need a place to stay . . .' (5.26-27)
August is not big on prodding people for "the whole truth and nothing but the truth." In addition to just believing being patient is the better strategy for dealing with Lily, she just doesn't seem to think it's her right to push Lily to tell what she doesn't want to . . . yet.
Quote #5
August picked up her book, and that was that. The moment passed, and so did the feeling that she knew who I was. I mean, it didn't make sense: how could August Boatwright know anything about me? (7.177).
Lily and August have just shared a moment in which Lily is convinced that August knows who she actually is. The moment foreshadows Lily's eventual discovery that August does know her real identity—and so much more, including things Lily herself doesn't know.
Quote #6
'Most people don't have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don't know anything about.'
I loved the idea of bees having a secret life, just like the one I was living (8.89).
And here we get to the bottom of the title. As Lily's thoughts here suggest, secrecy isn't all about being dodgy and running from the law/abusive daddies. With the bees, the "secret life" encompasses all the complex stuff they have going on that people aren't aware of. Kind of like all the complex stuff that goes on in people's minds that others never see, no?