During the court’s recess, someone throws dog feces on Margaret, and her jailers laugh at her. She remains defiant, however, and even uses the privy bucket in front of them. She reflects that she knows who she is and knows her worth. She will not let these men make her feel worthless. She returns to the court for more testimony. Goodman Spence reports that she gave him a salve to help him better satisfy his wife in their marital relations. The court laughs at him, but he continues. He adds that his wife became so “wanton” that she left him and was last seen with a sailor, bound for Hispaniola. He blames Margaret for turning his wife into a “lustful” woman with an insatiable sexual appetite. Margaret knows that this is ridiculous, but the governors find it compelling. They then ask a series of questions about the use of aphrodisiacs. Even when Margaret explains that she does not prescribe aphrodisiacs and that her only use for the most common of them is to burn warts off of the skin, the governors seem unmoved. They liken her knowledge to that of Eve after eating the apple and argue that even if she does possess real medical knowledge, she uses it for evil.

Margaret was known to tell people that if they did not use her medicines, their illnesses would never be healed.

Thomas and Governor Bellingham visit Margaret. Thomas has been cleared of the charges brought against him. They ask her to confess to being a witch and explain that if she does not, she will have to submit to several demeaning examinations: She will be observed overnight and not allowed to sleep to see if the devil visits her, and her body will be searched for marks of the devil. She will have to disrobe, and even her genitals will be examined. Margaret refuses to confess to something she did not do.

Later, Margaret sleeps fitfully and has a terrible dream, a memory from her youth. Two noblemen visited her grandmother to procure an aphrodisiac. Margaret had never seen such finely dressed people and agreed to meet the younger one later that night at an inn. He tempted her into bed, and they had sex. She enjoyed kissing, but the sex itself was painful. Afterwards, his older companion came in and sexually assaulted her. She returned home in tears. He grandmother met her on the road to their house: She knew exactly what had happened. Margaret wakes in a cold sweat. Thomas had known that he hadn’t been her first lover, and she recalls how kind he was about it and that he had taught her how to experience pleasure and reclaim her power. She cries, thinking of how lucky she was to have him as a husband.

Later there is more testimony. Goodwife Pierce testifies that Margaret’s cat is a pawn of the devil and that Margaret told her that if she did not use the balm she provided, Goodwife Pierce’s pain would intensify. Indeed, it did, and she is sure that Margaret cursed her. Goodwife Hall is next. She testifies that Margaret killed her baby during childbirth by mouthing satanic incantations and putting her hands into Goodwife Hall’s womb. The governors ask Margaret for her side of the story. She relates that she said only the Lord’s Prayer and that it is almost always necessary to reach into the womb. She adds that Goodwife Hall’s was the only baby that has ever died during a delivery in all of her years of midwifery.

The governors then ask Margaret if she and Thomas had changed their name from O’Byrn to Jones when they left England and if she once prescribed St. John’s wort to a noblewoman named Lady Wembly. Margaret does not know how they would know this. Lady Wembly took too much of the tincture and afterwards killed her husband. They changed their name to distance themselves from the story, which had been widely publicized. Margaret had been blamed. It seems that Lady Wembly recently died by suicide. The governors here in Massachusetts are also blaming Margaret for that.

Goodwife Morris testifies that Margaret commented after her daughter gave birth to a boy that it looked like the boy’s father was a Spaniard. It turned out that the daughter had a secret affair with a Portuguese man, and Morris alleges that Margaret knew this because she consorted with the devil. Margaret interrupts to point out that Portuguese and Spaniards are not the same, but the woman scoffs. She adds that Margaret can always tell early when a woman is pregnant. Margaret explains that this kind of knowledge is common among midwives, but she can tell that no one believes her. One of the constables informs her that she will be searched for marks of the devil that night and that she will not get any sleep. She quickly retorts that he is not likely to get sleep either. This remark will come to haunt her.

Margaret is taken to a nearby home, where three women instruct her to disrobe. They are to search her body for witch marks and signs of the devil. Margaret has a small, heart-shaped birthmark on her inner thigh and knows that it spells trouble. She is right: The women take note of it and poke it with a special instrument meant to determine if a woman is a witch. They explain that if she does not bleed, she is a witch. The needle is dull and the woman wielding it does not push very hard, so Margaret does not bleed. Observing the needle, Margaret also notices that it appears to be retractable. Pushing hard on it forces the needle back into its sheath. She angrily says as much to her captors, but they do not listen. Then, Margaret is returned to her cell. She is to sit cross-legged all night along. One of the constables will observe her to see if she is visited by any familiars.