The Trial
- Pearl comes back to work the day before Nelly's trial. Eldric insists on helping her, telling jokes, and making her feel better after the death of the baby—Briony marvels at the way Eldric puts everyone at ease without trying too hard.
- The family goes to the court.
- Eldric gave Rose a new hair ribbon to replace the one that was stolen, which she seems very happy about.
- Outside of the courtroom, Briony's father tells her she has been called as a witness and must appear.
- Briony claims to get ill in courtrooms because of the smell of eels. Maybe someone isn't cleaning with the best cleaning product in this court?
- Briony and her father have a small argument in which Briony, typical teenager, is a little disrespectful and Mr. Larkin, typical father, says he will not tolerate it.
- Mr. Larkin explains to someone that Stepmother's trial was here just four months ago.
- Briony begins to get a headache from all the memories that flood her about her Stepmother. Tiddy Rex holds Briony's hand and asks to sit with her, and she is very happy and grateful.
- A beautiful, full figured, and well-dressed Leanne enters the scene, and everyone seems enamored with her.
- Leanne says she is here from another town twenty miles away because she hates witches and likes to celebrate their hanging.
- Briony points out the Chime Child to Eldric who mentions that she looks old.
- Tiddy Rex explains that the Chime Child can see the Old Ones while humans cannot—this is called the second sight.
- Briony dreams of what Stepmother probably looked like as she died.
- The constable's testimony relies on the fact that one of the witches had red hair and so does Nelly.
- When Rose is called to the stand, she points out that Nelly's hair color does not match the color of the witch they saw in the swamp—but then she yells at Briony to cover her ears at noon and discredits herself in front of everyone.
- Eldric takes the stand and reveals every detail of their witch encounter except for the part where the witches mooned them.
- Briony has a sudden memory of herself feeding her stepmother soup and the eel smell returns. She runs out of the courtroom into an alley and throws up.