Lyddie

The following morning, Lyddie reports to work with a sense of dread. She relives the moments of the previous evening in her mind, wondering why she felt compelled to stuff the bucket on Mr. Marsden’s head. He had stopped his impending assault of Brigid after Lyddie called his name. When she reaches the weaving room, she notes that Brigid is not at her loom. One of Brigid’s neighbors from the part of town known as The Acre approaches Lyddie. She tells Lyddie that Brigid asked her to say that she wasn’t feeling well, but the truth is that Brigid was told not to report to work. No sooner has Mr. Marsden appeared at his post in the weaving room than a clerk approaches Lyddie and asks her to report to the agent’s office.

Lyddie follows him and is ushered into Agent Graves’s office, where she stands awkwardly as he ignores her, busying himself at his desk. When she catches his attention, he informs her that Mr. Marsden has reported to him that she has become a “troublemaker” in the weaving room and that she is a bad influence on the other employees. He asks about her work, and she confirms that she operates four looms, is happy with her earnings, and has no complaints about the long hours she is forced to work. Lyddie asks why she is being called a troublemaker, and Mr. Marsden is brought in. Agent Graves tells Mr. Marsden that Lyddie has asked about the accusations against her. Mr. Marsden’s response is vague, repeating his assertion that she is a troublemaker. Lyddie is disgusted, jumping up from her seat and asking “A troublemaker? Then what be you, Mr. Marsden? What be you, ey?” (167). When pressed by Agent Graves, who points to Lyddie’s excellent work ethic and productivity, Mr. Marsden charges her with “moral turpitude,” claiming that he worries she may have a corrupting influence on her younger peers at the factory (167). Lyddie is at a significant disadvantage; she doesn’t know the definition of turpitude and feels incapable of defending herself. She is told that she can collect the wages owed her and is dismissed from the mill without the precious certificate of good conduct that would have allowed her to seek employment elsewhere.

Lyddie returns to Number Five and begins packing her things, finding that she has amassed so many belongings that she will need to purchase a trunk. When she breaks the news of her dismissal, Mrs. Bedlow is shocked, repeating what everyone believes: that Lyddie is Mr. Marsden’s “best girl.” Lyddie chooses not to explain what led to her dismissal, worried that she bears some responsibility for Mr. Marsden’s advances. She withdraws her savings from the bank, $243.87, and proceeds to the bookshop. For Brigid, she buys a copy of Oliver Twist, and for herself, a copy of the Worcester’s Dictionary. Unwilling to wait to satisfy her curiosity, Lyddie sits down on the sidewalk and looks for the definition of turpitude. Lyddie is appalled when she learns how she has been characterized and wishes she had known the definition so that she could have accused Mr. Marsden of lying about her.

Back at Number Five, Lyddie composes a set of duplicate letters and sets out to find where Brigid lives in The Acre. Lyddie tells Brigid that she has been dismissed but will ensure that Brigid is not only given her job back but will never be bothered by Mr. Marsden again. She hands Brigid a letter detailing the entirety of Mr. Marsden’s actions; it is addressed to his wife. She tells Brigid that if Brigid has any trouble resuming work at Concord Corporation, she should mail the letter. As they part, Lyddie gives Brigid her copy of Oliver Twist, “So you won’t forget me altogether, ey?” (173). After work has concluded at Concord Corporation for the day, Lyddie waits along the row of overseers’ houses for Mr. Marsden. When he approaches, she confronts him, angrily objecting to the lies he told Agent Graves. She provides him with the second copy of her letter detailing his actions, assuring him that the first will be mailed to his wife if Brigid is not reinstated or is bothered in any way. Lyddie travels to Boston to say goodbye to Diana, who has found work in a shop. Lyddie explains the circumstances of her dismissal and offers to help Diana, by which she means provide her with money to repay her for all her kindness. Diana declines but expresses her appreciation. Bidding Diana goodbye, Lyddie boards a coach to return to Vermont.

Lyddie stops at Cutler’s Tavern on her way back to her family’s farm, happy to see Triphena but sad to inform her of the sale of the farm and the deaths of her mother and younger sister. Lyddie hopes that she might resume work at the tavern, but when her replacement appears, she realizes she must move forward, not backward. The next morning, Lyddie stops at the Phinney home hoping to see Charlie and Rachel, but Mrs. Phinney informs her that they are both at school. She decides not to linger, pressing on to her family’s farm. She finds that repairs have been made in her absence, the door to the cabin no longer barred by the pile of logs she and Charlie left outside. She lights a fire and sits beside the hearth in her mother’s rocking chair, wondering if she might stay without bothering anyone. Suddenly, Luke enters, having seen her approach, and invites her to dine with his family. She agrees, and as they walk back, she addresses his letter. He is embarrassed, asking where she will go. Lyddie says she will say goodbye to Charlie and Rachel and then proceed to Ohio, where she will attend Oberlin College, explaining that they accept women as students. Luke is surprised and a bit impressed. Lyddie wonders to herself if Luke might wait for her to return, but she doesn’t ask him to. As they walk to his house and he tells her that he will miss her, she is reminded of the poor spelling in her mother’s first letter to her and Charlie and thinks, “We can stil hop” (182).