After a years-long series of pregnancy losses, Margaret (Maggie) becomes pregnant and has a feeling that she will be able to carry the pregnancy to term. She tells Thomas, who cautions her that six weeks is still early but finds himself quietly optimistic that she is right. Later, he tells Margaret that he will be off to Boston soon to craft a wardrobe for a new widow. He then greets Mary Doyle, a young Irish woman who is indentured to a local family and has come to purchase herbs from Margaret. Thomas is also originally from Ireland, but he responds to Mary Doyle’s Irish greeting with one in English: He cannot be too careful in this small community. Public sentiment against the Irish remains strong, even in the New World.

The Widow Hallett is young, beautiful, and flirtatious. Thomas cannot help but notice that she does not seem particularly grief-stricken and wonders if her marriage (to a man old enough to be her grandfather) was arranged. She brushes her fingers against him indecently and he judges her for it, but he remains calm and tries to deflect her advances without offending her: She has just ordered a large, expensive piece of furniture, and he is happy for the business. He tells her that he will return in two weeks’ time to construct it in-room, as it will be too big to be assembled outside of her home. Then, he returns home. When Margaret asks about the Widow Hallett, he is honest, as is their custom: He tells her that the widow is beautiful, that he prefers Margaret to her, and that he has no doubt she will be remarried soon.

In Margaret’s journal, she recounts helping various townspeople, including Widow Hallett, with various herbs and tinctures. She notes the Widow’s request for a spell to make her appealing to suitors, stating that she refused: Such a spell would be the work of the devil, and Margaret cannot become known for such unholy acts. She notes with displeasure the Widow’s obvious interest in her husband and is sure that she is up to no good.

Margaret tells Thomas that the Widow Hallett has arrived to check his progress. Neither Margaret nor Thomas is happy to see her. Margaret feels a distinct sense of foreboding: She trusts her husband but knows that the widow is up to no good. Thomas finds the widow’s open flirtation distasteful and does his best to get rid of her quickly. He is polite, but obviously uninterested in her advances. When she leaves, Margaret tells Thomas of her fears, but he brushes them aside; the widow is too flirtatious, sure, but poses no threat. Margaret then expresses a desire to return to England, if only for a visit. Thomas cautions her that this cannot happen, ever: Margaret sold a tincture to a noblewoman that resulted in a price being placed on her head. Margaret tries to argue: A parliament is to be established. The nobility’s power is surely waning. Thomas shakes his head: Moneyed people will always have power even if the structure of the government changes.

Margaret is now three months pregnant.

Margaret and Thomas make their way to the market and to deliver a cradle Thomas has just fashioned for one of their fellow townspeople. Thomas delivers the cradle as Margaret waits for him, and when he returns to the market, Thomas is chagrined to see her administering to a man who has been placed in the stocks for drunkenness on the Sabbath. Those gathered to jeer at the man are aghast, and word quickly spreads among the people that Margaret’s behavior is scandalous: It is not her place to show mercy to someone who deserves God’s punishment. Governor Endecott takes notice and moves swiftly toward Margaret, berating her for her impious actions. Margaret, to Thomas’s even greater chagrin, quotes scripture at the governor, pointing out that no one is immune to sin and that they are all commanded by Christ to forgive one another.

Endecott is furious and further berates Margaret for having the audacity to quote the Bible as she is engaged in sinful action herself. Thomas intercedes on her behalf, noting that in her delicate state (she is with child, he admits) she has developed an overabundance of pity and is acting out of character. The governor seems to accept this explanation but warns that if Margaret continues this kind of behavior she will be issued a fine. Thomas tells her to be more careful in the future. On their way home, they run into Samuel Stratton, and he invites them to dinner. Margaret, who longs for friends in the colony, is elated.

Margaret and Thomas heartily enjoy their evening with Samuel and Allice Stratton. Samuel is kind, generous, and gregarious. He and Margaret match each other’s wit and ability to tell stories. Samuel explains how he met Alice, that he surprised her by kissing her and proposing marriage even though she was betrothed to another. Thomas explains that he and Margaret were both indentured on the same farm and that Margaret had boldly told him that he would be taking her to an upcoming fair. The evening is punctuated by only one moment of tension: Thomas squeezes Margaret’s leg under the table after she makes a comment that might be interpreted as critical of Puritanism, but no one seems offended, and Thomas hopes that Samuel and Alice are not devout. When Thomas and Margaret leave, they promise to cook for the Strattons next time.

Later, Margaret is called to aid at a birth. Thomas worries because the woman’s husband is, according to their older son, drunk. He wants to accompany Margaret, but she waves him off. Thomas asks Alice Stratton to go help Margaret and makes her promise to send for him if the man becomes violent. While Margaret is gone, Thomas recalls their first night together. They’d had sex before he even proposed, although he’d asked her to marry him just as soon as they finished. He knew even then that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. When Margaret returns, he asks how everything went. She calmly explains that she dosed the drunk man with a poppy tincture. Worried, he cautions her to be careful in administering that particular medicine.

Margaret is six months pregnant and hopes for a girl. She has decided to name her Elizabeth, after the queen.

Margaret, heavily pregnant, continues to dispense herbs and tinctures. For this she is seen by many as a healer, but by others as “cunning,” an insult leveled at women who were too intelligent, too loud, or too assertive. Thomas knows that this pejorative is one step shy of being labeled a witch, and that insult would be disastrous for Margaret. There have already been witch trials in the colony, a settlement so characterized by extreme religiosity that Christmas has been deemed too pagan to celebrate. Margaret does not help herself, Thomas thinks, by her actions and demeanor. She prides herself on her intuition and has begun dispensing advice and prescriptions even before her customers can explain their problems. This is seen by many as bordering on witchcraft and has even offended some. Margaret and Thomas have a heated argument after Margaret dispenses advice to a couple who she is sure have stopped having sex. The man becomes angry with her—rightly so, Thomas argues—and storms off. Margaret does apologize to Thomas during this particular disagreement, but he worries that she is too free with her advice and open about her views.

After 10 hours of labor, Margaret gives birth to a healthy baby girl, and they name her Elizabeth. Thomas spent much of the labor fretting, and even after he sees the baby he worries that she will not live. Alice, however, assures him that the girl is healthy. She shows Margaret how to nurse. Thomas is deeply grateful for the baby’s health and is, like Margaret, overjoyed to finally become a parent.

Margaret and the baby are healthy, thanks in part to Margaret’s knowledge of plants and herbs, but it is difficult to care for an infant. Margaret struggles with her mood swings and with the baby’s care, but she is grateful to have such a helpful husband in Thomas.

Thomas and Margaret are still very much in love, and Thomas is pleased that, after a few weeks’ time, their sex life resumes as normal. One day after leaving Margaret’s bed, Thomas is happily whistling as he works in his workshop. He is surprised to look up and see the Widow Hallett. She asks him flirtatiously if he will build her a new bed, and he agrees but explains that it will take him a month to get started. She asks why, and he further explains that he has been busy and that he has a new child. When the Widow Hallett then calls his wife “cunning,” Thomas uncharacteristically loses his temper. Cunning is an insult, and he defends Margaret. He notes her skill as an apothecary and a midwife and adds that there is nothing untoward about her work. The Widow Hallett backpedals and claims she meant no harm, but Thomas is wary. There is something about her that worries him. He brusquely tells her that he will start her bed when he is free and that he has work to do. She quickly leaves.

Margaret worries because the Widow Hallett came over to ask for a tincture to help her skin and touched her child Bess (her nickname) on the cheek. She prepares a mixture to protect against the evil eye.

Margaret and Thomas fight about the Widow Hallett. Thomas is upset to find Margaret applying something to their child’s skin to ward off the evil eye, and Margaret is jealous of the Widow Hallett’s obvious interest in Thomas. Thomas assures Margaret that he has never been untrue to her and accuses her of still harboring feelings for a man who kissed her years ago, before they were married. The fight soon passes however, and they make up.

Later, Thomas and some of the men from town talk about Widow Hallett. Thomas asserts that she needs a husband, and they joke about who might be up to the task. Governor Winthrop and Dudley, one of the former governors, walk up and hear them joking and laughing. Winthrop is not pleased and accuses the men of being too “bawdy.” Dudley then tells Thomas that he would do well to take a firmer hand with Margaret, and Thomas worries that she is again drawing too much attention to herself.

Samuel, too, worries about Margaret. He and Thomas get together to discuss purchasing a goat, and he warns Thomas that Margaret’s newfound habit of diagnosing people before they become ill or outing women as pregnant before they make the knowledge public seems, in the eyes of many, a sign of possible witchcraft. Thomas knows that Samuel is right and worries even more that Margaret will bring ill fortune on herself or on them both.

Margaret helps Goodwife Morris through the birth of her first child and recommends a remedy for croup to Goodwife Westin. Goodwife Morris is grateful, but Goodwife Westin calls her “cunning” and refuses her remedy.

Margaret hurries off to see Goodwife Westin, whose son is gravely ill. Thomas remains at home. He enjoys a meal with Bess, who is smarter and livelier each day, and then bundles her up to go for a walk. He adores his wife and child and feels like a lucky man. Margaret returns late and explains that she had difficulty with Goodwife Westin. She brought a remedy for croup but also recommended the family open the windows to air the rooms out and reduce their child’s ill humors. Goodman Westin thought it a good idea, but Goodwife Westin did not. Thomas feels his anger rising. Humors are seen by many as fanciful, and treating them is little more than devilry. He warns her against speaking this way and explains that Sam confided in him that people in town are beginning to call Margaret “the Devil’s hand” (96). They argue, and Margaret sleeps in a chair by the fire that night rather than remain in bed next to Thomas.

Thomas is chagrined when, later, Goodman Westin stops by his workshop. He doesn’t understand what Margaret meant by ‘ill humors” and wants clarification. As they speak, Westin goes to make the sign of the cross but then stops himself. Thomas notes this with interest; like himself, Westin must have at one point been a papist. It is evident to Thomas that Westin’s wife has been needling him about Margaret’s interest in practices not sanctioned by the church. He fetches Margaret and can see that Westin is attracted to her. Margaret gives a vague explanation, and Westin thanks her, saying that he understands the concept better now.

For the first time since she began her work as a midwife, Margaret loses a baby. Then, the Widow Hallett comes by to ask for an aphrodisiac, and Margaret is forced to tell her that she does not deal in that kind of magic.

Margaret tells Thomas that Goodwife Hall’s child was stillborn and that she offered her a tincture of St. John’s wort to help ease her pain. Thomas worries: Margaret’s use of this remedy is why they had to leave England. Thomas is grateful Goodwife Hall refused. His happiness is short-lived, however. A few weeks later, after a church service during which Thomas misses the pomp and circumstance of the Catholic Mass, they see Goodwife Hall and her husband. Margaret goes to comfort her, but Goodwife Hall screams at her, accusing her of killing the baby and of being the “Devil’s hand.” Thomas knows that this is a bad sign, but Margaret remains defiant. He worries not only that she will continue to be a topic of gossip, but that her attitude will make matters worse.