Clifford and Phoebe

• Hepzibah has spent her entire life patiently waiting to get her beloved brother back home again.
• Now that he is out of prison, she does her best to make him feel warm and loved again.
• She brings down his old books of poetry and fiction.
• But Clifford doesn't seem to enjoy listening to Hepzibah read. Her voice is harsh, and her reading sounds like a lecture.
• Worst of all, Clifford cannot seem to get over his distaste for her ugly appearance.
• There is just something clumsy and distressing about Hepzibah.
• So Hepzibah asks Phoebe to look after Clifford.
• Phoebe becomes essential to the daily comfort of her two elderly housemates, especially Clifford.
• She lifts his spirits with her singing and her bustling presence.
• Clifford appears younger when she is nearby.
• Clifford isn't sexually attracted to Phoebe, mind you. He just sees in her the kind of girl he might once have loved, before his life was ruined.
• Phoebe is annoyed that she doesn't know the secret of Clifford's life before this.
• But she is always kind and patient with him.
• She helps Clifford avoid his dark spells of depression.
• Even Phoebe can't be entirely unaware of the dark gloom of the House of the Seven Gables. She is growing more thoughtful and quieter than she was before.
• Soon, Clifford, Hepzibah, and Phoebe fall into a daily routine. Hepzibah and Phoebe take turns looking after the shop and after Clifford.