Martha and Ephraim wake in Pownalboro at the tavern that also houses the courthouse and jail, where the Supreme Judicial Court judges from Boston are staying. Ephraim identifies Robert Treat Paine, Nathan Cushing, Increase Sumner, and Francis Dana and assures Martha that their reputations give Rebecca Foster a better chance than she had in local courts. Martha, already worried because she and Ephraim still cannot find the Fosters, recognizes that these men will decide whether justice applies to ordinary women as well as powerful men.

While waiting for court, Martha takes a rare bath and dresses carefully in a new green silk gown because she wants to appear credible and respectable before the judges. Ephraim learns that North’s case will be heard last after three other cases of a sexual or reputational nature. The delay worsens Martha’s anxiety, and their search for Isaac and Rebecca before the session begins turns up nothing.

In court, Martha and Ephraim sit near the front while Seth waits quietly in the back. The justices first uphold Hannah Barker’s slander conviction and impose a crushing fine, then acquit Thomas Meloney of incest and infant murder because the evidence is insufficient, and finally overturn Nathaniel Whitaker’s attempted rape conviction for the same reason. Watching those outcomes, Martha sees women punished for speech while men escape punishment when eyewitness proof is lacking, which makes her fear Rebecca will meet the same fate.

Just before North’s case is called, Martha steps outside to the privy and returns to find the courtroom tense and half-standing. Joseph North has appeared with a Boston lawyer, Henry Knowland, but Rebecca and Isaac Foster are still absent. Seth explains to the court that Rebecca is eight months pregnant from the assault and cannot travel, then submits Rebecca’s and Isaac’s depositions; Martha confirms her own written deposition and produces her journal so the judges can verify that her recorded observations match her testimony.

Knowland argues that no one witnessed North assault Rebecca and urges the jury not to destroy a respected colonel and judge on the unsupported accusation of an absent woman. Seth answers that rape happens in secret, that Rebecca’s sworn testimony is evidence, and that her pregnancy should not erase her credibility. After a long deliberation, the jury returns, and Increase Sumner reads the verdict acquitting Joseph North of attempted rape, crushing Martha’s hope that the higher court would finally deliver justice.