How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It was while this absence lasted that our young lady finally discovered what had happened in the house to be that her mother was no longer in love. (XI.4)
Again, this quote underlines the fact that there is a huge difference between a house and a home. Maisie's mother's house is not homey.
Quote #5
She therefore recognised the hour that in troubled glimpses she had long foreseen, the hour when—the phrase for it came back to her from Mrs. Beale—with two fathers, two mothers and two homes, six protections in all, she shouldn't know "wherever" to go. (XII.1)
Notice that this quote makes "home," like parents, equivalent to "protection." No wonder Maisie, who's lived in multiple houses, remains in search of a home.
Quote #6
"For the wretched homeless child. Any roof—over our heads—will do for us" (XII.21).
These words are spoken by Mrs. Wix, who's addressing Sir Claude. Maisie is only called "homeless" once in the novel, but the description haunts her for all of the pages that follow. Homelessness is the disaster that has to be averted.