Chains Chapter 32 Summary

Sunday, September 22—Thursday, September 26, 1776

  • The New York fire is a disaster of catastrophic proportions: Five hundred homes are destroyed, thousands of people are left homeless, and the death toll is so high that the stench of charred flesh literally fills the air and makes everyone sick. First the war, and now this—these people can't catch a break.
  • Isabel and Lady Seymour are among the survivors, though Isabel can't stop coughing up soot and Lady Seymour appears to have had a stroke brought on by the flames. Lockton insists that she come to stay with him and his wife as she recovers. You can imagine how Madam feels about this.
  • The Locktons have more guests than just Lady Seymour, though, and because the abandoned rebel homes many British soldiers were occupying have now been destroyed, their commanding officers order anyone with a functional home to take homeless soldiers in. So eleven soldiers and their wives now live with the Locktons. 
  • While the house is crowded, having other women around takes the pressure off Isabel to do all the work. Sarah, a soldier's wife who is expecting a baby, takes over the kitchen and assumes the role Becky once held before she fled. As a result of all this, Isabel's life is disrupted even more than it was before the fire.