Chapter 17, The Midwife's Apprentice Summary

The important couple wants Alyce to accompany them to Salisbury to be a nanny to the baby boy and Magister Reese asks Alyce if she would like to go with him to Oxford where he lives with his widowed sister, so that the girl can continue to learn while helping him take care of his sister. Jennet, worried that Alyce might leave her, offers the girl a penny occasionally to stay on as the inn girl.

Alyce sits quietly and thinks to herself, trying to figure out what she wants for herself. After some reflection Alyce realizes that what she wants is to be the midwife's apprentice. Though Alyce knows that she will have to work hard with little encouragement, and that she will likely be hungry while she works, she will be content and happy. Alyce...