Desire under the Elms, Part 3 Summary

Scene 1 - One night in "late spring the following year," Abbie quietly watches as a dance takes place in the kitchen and several neighbors hint that the baby in the cradle upstairs was fathered by him and not by Ephraim. After leading the crowd in a rowdy dance to celebrate the birth of "his" son, Ephraim goes outside to get some air. Abbie takes the opportunity to slip upstairs where Eben has been listening. As gossip flies between the party guests, Abbie and Eben look down at what is revealed to be their child and comment on how awkward the situation is (see "Quotes," p. 44). Abbie urges Eben to be patient, saying something's bound to happen to Ephraim - who, out in the yard, muses on how it still feels like there's something wrong about...