Chapter 27: Winter Term/Cassie Summary

Cassie writes in her diary in earnest now that the letters from Matthew have stopped. She hates herself for lying to Lydia and Emily, blaming herself for the Matthew Dunlop incident because she kept writing to him even after his first threatening letters. When Cassie finally admits this to Lydia, Cassie is fearful Lydia must think she's crazy. Lydia sets a secret assignment for herself and Emily to assure Cassie she is sane. Emily theorizes that Cassie wrote Matthew because his cruelty hurt her in a way she could handle better than the pain of losing her father; it was a distraction from the sadness still heavy in her heart. Lydia believes Cassie continued writing the letters as a way of taking the power from her bossy counselor, whom she knows is a charlatan. Cassie believes she...