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Cry, The Beloved Country Book 1, Chapter 16
Kumalo visits the girl the next day. She welcomes him uncertainly. He tells her that Absalom has killed a white man, and her shock and grief are childlike and touching. He asks her then whether she wants to marry his son. At first, she cannot really answer: she wants to do what is best. But he wants to know whether she really wants to be Absalom's wife. She says she does, and he begins to ask her about her life. She tells him that her mother was often drunk and her father left them, so she left home as well. She has lived with two other men besides Absalom, and each of them were "caught" (presumably imprisoned). Kumalo is angered and grieved at her sad life, and he wants for some reason to hurt her. He asks her if she has ever had a murderer before. She cries, and he backs off, but then attacks her again: will she take another man now? What if he himself wanted her? She is so afraid and confused that she says, "I could be willing." Chapter 16, pg. 115 She becomes so upset that he pities her, and comforts her, and apologizes. He asks her whether she really wants to go live in a quiet, faraway town, and she excitedly says yes. He tells her he will find a place for her to live near the Mission House, and leaves her, feeling somewhat recovered.
