House of Salt and Sorrows

A few days later, after Ortun sails away on business again, Annaleigh wakes to screams in the night. Morella is suffering pain from her unborn twins, who are kicking. Some of the older sisters surround Morella, and Annaleigh directs them. They get her a warm towel among other things and massage her pain away with lavender. Roland sends for a midwife, but she will take half a day to sail to Highmoor Manor. Morella cries over Annaleigh’s kindness and missing Ortun. Annaleigh says they’re family and will look out for each other. Morella asks the sisters about preparing for the Churning Festival, as she is ignorant of the custom and doesn’t want to embarrass Ortun. Annaleigh takes the lead and later gathers her sisters to aid with tasks since they host meals and balls during the Churning Festival. Camille doesn’t want to help Morella, but Annaleigh reminds her that Churning is important. She suggests they take a break from dancing for the week to work on the event, and her sisters reluctantly agree. They plan one event to be building snow castles.

Honor asks if the pregnant Morella will be safe, stating she doesn’t want more deaths. Verity blames herself as the start of the family’s curse since Cecilia died giving birth to her. The sisters comfort her, denying the curse. They look to Annaleigh for help, who assures Verity that their mother was called home and that Verity’s birth brought them joy. They all hug.

The Churning Festival begins with a greeting and a feast. The sisters are proud of their hard work throughout the week, though Camille didn’t help and danced every night; Morella is sick in bed. While greeting guests, Annaleigh overhears that Cassius’s father passed away, but Cassius arrives, and the pair admit to the returned Ortun that they met before. Annaleigh expresses sympathy, and Cassius thanks her, complimenting her and noting Fisher isn’t doing much apprenticing for the lighthouse these days. She teases him over his jealousy. Ortun announces that the feast will begin shortly, and everyone moves to the next room for drinks, except the sisters.

The triplets, Lenore, Rosalie, and Ligeia, tease Annaleigh over Cassius’s affection for her. They say he has potential, though Rosalie prefers hearty sailors. Annaleigh rolls her eyes at their jokes, and they tell her to wear her seafoam green dress to the feast, to look like a mermaid. Camille interrupts to state she’s assigned to sit next to Cassius and stomps off.

At the feast, everyone (including Morella) prays to Pontus for a peaceful winter. They swallow a shot of saltwater, which Annaleigh dislikes, and Cassius secretly spits his out. During the first course, Ortun and some sailors overdrink, fighting and getting rowdy. Ortun shares a mystery with the guests—that his daughters’ shoes keep wearing out, except Annaleigh’s. He went to the cobbler’s shop to confirm the mystery wasn’t a matter of quality and says whoever solves the mystery can ask for one daughter’s hand in marriage.

Camille protests that their father must be joking, but her other sisters are uncertain. Morella tries to get Ortun to stop drinking, but he rages at a sailor and breaks his glass. Annaleigh escorts her younger sisters and the guests’ young children to a classroom for dessert. She also stops the butlers from bringing in brandy, ordering dessert and strong coffee to sober everyone up. Cassius compliments her assertiveness. He asks why only her shoes aren’t wearing out, and she teases him over her father’s bet. He compliments Highmoor Manor, and Annaleigh is disappointed, thinking he may be interested in her family’s wealth.

Annaleigh helps Morella prepare for bed. Still drunk, Ortun and some other men searched the castle for clues regarding the sisters’ worn shoes but fell asleep in Ortun’s study. Morella and Annaleigh discuss the disastrous evening, but Morella thinks Ortun has been off since Eulalie’s death, saying and doing things he doesn’t mean. Annaleigh asks about Morella and her father’s courtship, and she claims it was short but lovely. When Morella asks about her love life, she admits a man has caught her eye but is uncertain if he truly likes her. Morella states this man would be a fool not to like her, as she thinks Annaleigh has a kind heart and wishes to be her friend (due to their small age gap). She then offers a book that kept her awake for hours. Annaleigh accepts the book.

Annaleigh’s family attends the Churning Festival activities the next night as snow falls, enjoying lantern art of marine animals, like a giant Thaumas octopus. The men and women disperse to different activities—men to the pubs and women to frozen treats. A street vendor distracts the sisters, and Annaleigh notices the dragon man from the first ball. He beckons her, and she follows, noting the three-headed dragon crest on his lapel. She follows him through alleyways into a run-down part of town with pink houses and sex workers. The dragon man has vanished, and Annaleigh feels lost. Cassius appears, and they find their way back to the square together.

Annaleigh and Cassius talk about their dreams. Since Cassius’s father left him an inheritance, he considers becoming a sailor, though he personally worships Versia, queen of the night. Annaleigh dreams of living on the island with the lighthouse, Old Maude, as its caretaker. Cassius assures her that they had a misunderstanding yesterday, as he was joking about being interested in Highmoor Manor. He voices his affection for her, and they kiss.