As autumn begins, Emmeline enjoys the newly improved farmhouse. She tells Vera that she wants the family bloodline to continue at the farm and that Theo is “the perfect solution” (215), though she frames any transfer of the property as contingent on him proving himself as farm manager first. Later, Emmeline visits the hardware store and finds Emily happily working in the back office. Emily invites Emmeline to a family dinner to finally meet the baby’s father, David.

In the stockroom, Emmeline finds Toby and encourages him to be proud of his accomplishments and to offer his son his full support when Theo is released from prison. Afterward, she visits Meg, who’s anxiously planning the menu for David’s visit, and Agatha. Emmeline cleverly persuades the cantankerous Agatha to knit for the new baby by offering to take her shopping for supplies. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Toby’s wife, Bev, who announces that her daughter, Louise Darling, is coming home for Theo’s release. The next day, Emmeline takes Agatha to the yarn store and convinces her to prepare a welcoming speech for Theo’s party by saying that Agatha is the family matriarch.