Chapter 12 Summary

Vida believes that Carrie must be some sort of witch who has placed a spell on the Brown family, where the children are quiet, and now act as though they respect one another—and others, too. She prays daily for Jane's return. She tries to get Mr. Jeff to agree with her that Carrie has the children under a spell, but he refuses, saying he believes that they may simply be growing up. This leads Vida to confront Carrie about her "entertaining gentlemen callers" when she is supposed to be looking after the children, and she threatens to tell Dr. Brown about it.

Betsey is afraid that Carrie has been fired, but Carrie assures her that although she has made mistakes in her past, she is not going anywhere this time, that she came to St. Louis to find someplace clear of her...