Chapters XLI - L Summary

In Chapter XLI, two of Ruth's former friends come to pay her a visit. However, when they see her meager accommodations they decide they do not want to be seen in such an awful establishment. They have their own reputations to consider. They leave for the famous La Temps instead.

In Chapter XLII two maids, Betty and Gatty, talk about what they have seen while working in the Millet household. Ruth Hall comes to the kitchen every Monday to wash out her clothes with the other servants. She is Mrs. Millet's cousin, but she is given no special favors. Gatty comments that white people are stone-hearted.

Chapter XLIII brings a surprise for Ruth, Katy, and Nettie: the delivery of a bunch of flowers and a basket of apples. Ruth thinks it must be a mistake, but she...