Home at Last
- When Mrs. Thornton comes to visit Mrs. Hale, she finds that Mrs. Hale's health has taken a turn for the worse. The woman really looks like she could die at any moment.
- While she's floating in and out of consciousness, Mrs. Hale asks Mrs. Thornton to offer guidance and friendship to Margaret if she (Mrs. Hale) dies. Mrs. Thornton isn't going to indulge her, though. She promises to give Margaret guidance if she thinks Margaret is acting inappropriately, but she can't promise that she'll be kind to the girl. This is just asking too much.
- Mrs. Thornton then leaves.
- Later that night, there's a knock at the door. Margaret answers it and finds a young man on the front step, asking whether he is at Mr. Hale's house. Margaret instantly recognizes the young man as her brother and hugs him, pulling him inside the house.
- After showing Frederick into the house, Margaret runs into her bedroom and allows herself to cry for the first time since her family's troubles began.
- Everything is great at first. But the reality soon sets in that Frederick is now in a lot of danger.
- Doctor Donaldson shows up at the house, and the family hides Frederick away while he's there. Once he's gone, though, they bring Frederick to his mother's room.
- It's the end, though. No sooner is Frederick in the house than his mother takes her cue to die.
- Once she's gone, the whole house goes into mourning. Margaret is stuck with the terrible job of telling Frederick not to cry so loudly because the neighbors might hear the wails of a young man and wonder who he is.