Summary

In Chapter 9, Mary finds that the garden is overgrown, particularly with huge rose bushes, and feels very much abandoned. Since it is winter, nothing is blooming. She hopes that all the plants have not died. She is thrilled when she finds a few green sprigs poking through the ground and spends the rest of the day weeding that area to allow the new growth to come in. Later that evening, Mary tells Martha that she wants some gardening tools. At Martha’s suggestion, she writes a letter to her brother Dickon. She asks him to buy some tools on his next trip to the village Thwaite. Mary is excited at the prospect of meeting Dickon and at the news that Martha’s mother has invited her to visit their home. When Martha is out of the room, Mary again hears a child crying...