Oh, William

William and Lucy find Lois at home, but William is too afraid to meet her and sends Lucy in his place. Lois, who is a fan of Lucy’s books, welcomes her into her house, which is an inheritance from her adopted mother, Marilyn Smith. Houlton is a small, gossipy town, and Lois already knows about Lucy and William’s presence.

Lois insists defensively that she has had a very good life teaching school, marrying a dentist, and raising four morally upright children. She learned about Catherine’s existence when she was eight. She describes Catherine, the 18-year-old girl who came between her 28-year-old father Clyde and his long-term sweetheart Marilyn Smith, as an interloper. Lois speculates that Catherine only married Clyde to get away from her own home. Referencing Lucy’s memoir, Lois states that it was ironic of Catherine to state that Lucy came from nothing, when she herself “came from less than nothing […] from trash” (178). Catherine’s mother had alcoholism, her father was abusive, and her brother died in prison. Catherine used her beauty to tempt Clyde into marrying her and escape her home. Lois gives Lucy directions to the rundown place where Catherine’s family were from in addition to the farm she grew up on.