Chapters 17 and 18 Summary

To their horror, Wilbur and Eliza hear Cordelia tell their parents that the children should be separated; she believes Wilbur should be sent to a boys' school that is not too academically demanding. Not to give away their secret hiding spot, Wilbur and Eliza scurry back down stairs in tears, then burst into the room saying they will commit suicide if they are separated. Cordelia laughs and says that her testing showed that neither of the children would ever attempt suicide. This makes their mother snap and for a brief moment, she is like an angry mother bear protecting her young. The children ask to be tested together. They explain that Bobby and Betty Brown are the two people they hate most and they want to show what they're capable of together. Cordelia pushes her haughty condescension to the point the...