Part 2 Chapter 10 Summary

Amanda recalls little Ruth wanting to swim when she and Mathilda want to sleep. After Amanda teaches her to paddle, Ruth squirms away to play hide-and-seek under an overhanging willow. Mathilda stares at Amanda's pregnant belly for the first time and will have to help hide the secret.

On a hot July day, Imogene talks Ruth into taking Ray and Lewis to the island. Imogene announces that it is where Ruth is born and her mother dies. That is why Ruth is not allowed to go swimming. As a child Ruth had believed her mother is a mermaid, farming the bottom of the lake, but she also has nightmares of being dragged down. Reaching the island, they find the cabin open. Ruth ducks beneath the willow while the others splash and compete in swimming underwater. Recalling stories of her hiding like...