Summary

Mrs. Byrne tells all the seamstresses about a crash in the stock market ­ that has made it difficult for her and her husband to feed her own family, let alone pay the workers. Over the following weeks, Mrs. Byrne falls apart emotionally and physically, and Vivian loses a lot of weight from not eating. The seamstresses are dismissed one at a time until only Fanny and Vivian are left. At that point, the Byrnes are visited by Mr. Sorenson, a man from the Children's Aid Society. Mrs. Byrne accuses Vivian of eating too much and being a bad child, but it's clear she has to give Vivian up because she can't afford her. Vivian has an emotional goodbye with Fanny, then Mr. Sorenson takes her to a country farm where another family, the Grotes, has expressed the need for a young girl to...