Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary

Portia walks in from the cold and stamps her feet in the entryway. She strains to hear if anyone is home, but the silence emanating from the upper level of the large house tells her exactly what she had been hoping to find—she is alone.

Matchett then enters from the lower level, telling Portia that she heard her come in. Portia wonders if she and Matchett may have tea together while Anna is out, but purposefully Matchett does not reply.

Portia asks what is wrong and Matchett says that Anna has been talking about the messy condition of Portia's bedroom. She says that she doesn't really care what Portia does with her stuff, but she might want to keep things tidied up a bit for a while until Anna's mood wears off.

The young girl is upset, and asks Matchett...