Martha Ballard goes to Sarah White’s house in urgent need of help for Rebecca Foster’s newborn, who was born nearly three hours earlier and still has not eaten. Martha is surprised to find Sarah awake, dressed, and not alone: a young man is by the fire holding Charlotte. When Martha reveals the baby and asks whether Sarah is still producing enough milk for two children, Sarah immediately agrees and begins nursing the starving infant.

As the baby feeds hungrily, Martha sees both Sarah’s competence and her generosity. Sarah asks whether the baby has a name or a mother, and Martha’s answers make clear that the child has neither in any practical sense. Sarah then asks whether Martha means for her to keep the baby, and though Martha has not planned beyond getting the child fed, Sarah agrees to help for as long as needed.

Martha then learns the identity of the man by the fire: Major Henry Warren, Sarah’s fiancé and Charlotte’s father. Henry has returned as Sarah always said he would, and he has asked her to marry him that very evening. Sarah proudly explains that they will post notice at once and marry within the month, proving that her faith in Henry was justified despite the town’s doubts.

This revelation leads Martha to test another urgent question. She asks Henry whether he knows Judge Joseph North, because North had claimed Henry as his alibi on the night Rebecca Foster was raped. Henry says he knows North only by name and was hundreds of miles away on August tenth, with many men able to testify to it. Although North has already been acquitted, Henry insists he wants the record corrected so his name is not tied to North’s lie.

After that, Henry explains that he did not know about Charlotte for certain but suspected Sarah might have borne his child. He says his militia service delayed him, but he has now made arrangements to stay in Hallowell. Sarah joyfully reveals that Henry has bought Coleman’s Store, using an inheritance from his grandfather, and Martha realizes Sarah may truly have secured the life she chose for herself.

Exhausted but relieved, Martha prepares to leave. When Sarah asks what to call the baby, Martha finally gives the child a name. Looking at this unexpected refuge, Martha chooses "Emmeline," sending the newborn into a safer future than the one she was born into.