The Girls in the Stilt House

Ada and Annis spend most of her first week at Frank’s house alone. Only one sharecropper family remains, and Frank went to Jackson to look for office space for his new law practice. She enjoys cleaning the house, but she has trouble maintaining her hope for the future. When Frank returns and pays her, he realizes her connection to Virgil, and he begins to treat her “more casually” after that. After the second week, Frank invites her to eat dinner with him. She can sense that he is toying with her. He sells the property and offers Ada a bonus if she can help him prepare the house. Frank invites her to go to Jackson with him, saying they’ll stop in town so he can help her find a room. She begins to feel hopeful again.

Mr. Moser sends Matilda the latest edition of his newspaper, hidden in a box of cheese. He has given her a pseudonym and published her stories. She tells Mr. Lewis about what she’s doing with her writing, and he starts to feel like family. The writing gives her purpose, but she is growing tired of Mississippi.