Summary

A messenger boy informs Ester and Rivka it is another prayer and fasting day “on account of the plague,” which the preachers believe is “God’s punishment” (387). He warns the women not to be seen in the streets, as they may be blamed for the sickness by the public. The rabbi’s health is fading and it occurs to Ester that “she’d admired Rivka’s wordless devotion to the rabbi without ever considering what Rivka’s heart might wish” (388). “The press of whispering women trading information” on who had left the city “had vanished when the synagogue itself was shuttered” (389). Rivka no longer earned income, as mending and laundering “was no longer worth the risk of contact with another household” (389). Mary had not sent for Ester in weeks, and had not responded to the letters left at her door, where Ester had been...