Riding home from the tavern, Martha Ballard cannot stop thinking about the strip of lace Rebecca Foster said Joshua Burgess tore from her dress before raping her. Martha found a matching piece in Burgess’s saddlebag, but she now remembers seeing another knotted piece of lace in Sam Dawin’s pocket. Martha is exhausted and distracted by grief and work, yet the connection feels too important to ignore.

At home, Martha stays awake until after midnight to confront Jonathan Ballard. She questions him about Sally Pierce’s child and asks how he failed to notice Sally was pregnant. Jonathan admits their meetings were secret and hurried, then tells Martha he has already posted their intent to marry. He also confesses that holding his son affected him more deeply than he expected, which gives Martha some hope that he will not abandon Sally or the baby.

Martha then turns to the question that matters most to her: the November night Sam Dawin fell through the ice and Burgess’s body was found. Jonathan explains that they left Sam’s wharf after midnight because the river was closing. He says Burgess’s body had likely been caught only a few hours at Bumberhook Point, held in place because Burgess’s hair had frozen into the ice. Jonathan also admits Sam disliked Burgess and was especially upset and cursing when they found the corpse.

As Jonathan grows drowsy with drink, Martha keeps pressing gently. Jonathan confirms that Sam had a rope looped around his waist when he went into the water. Martha asks one last question and gets the answer she needs: the rope was bloody. That detail, combined with the lace Martha saw in Sam’s pocket, deepens Martha’s suspicion that Sam is tied more closely to Burgess and Rebecca’s assault than he has admitted. Before Martha can do anything with this new insight, the French doctor arrives at the Ballard house and urgently tells Martha that Rebecca Foster is in labor.