Midwives

Charlotte’s second son is christened Veil. As the ice is scraped off from the road on the morning of his birth, the rescue squad and police arrive at the Bedford home. The bedroom is surveyed by the medical examiner, and Charlotte is pronounced dead and taken to a funeral home in Burlington while Veil goes to the children’s hospital. Sibyl tells Rand about the tragedy when she gets home; the Danforths decide to tell Connie together once she gets back from school.

However, in school, Connie’s friends mention the fast-spreading news about the bloody death. Connie blurts out that her mother may have been present at the home of the Bedfords. When Connie gets home, she tells Rand about what she’s heard. Rand fills in the details for Connie. At the time, she and Rand are most worried that a civil suit will be filed against Sibyl (since lay midwives are not registered, a malpractice suit cannot be brought against them).

Sibyl joins Rand and Connie in the kitchen, Connie noting that her mother looks dull, as if her aura—one of Sibyl’s favorite words—has been diminished. The family sits in the den in near silence, a blanket wrapped around Sibyl.