Summary

“Exodus” (341 – 349) is set in 1872. Rue found Bean with the doll version of herself and Varina, but Bean had ripped out Varina’s half. Jonah fell from his horse when the Klan members startled it. While Rue tended him, he told her he was planning to leave permanently, and that none of Sarah’s children were his. Beneath his fresh wounds, she found the proof of this: old scar tissue where May Belle had removed his genitals. “Wartime” (350 – 364) covers the events of May 1864, with the voice of May Belle fluctuating between past and present tense. Her man told her that he was joining the war with his master, who had promised to set him free. May Belle checks over three new slaves, including Jonah. She notices that Rue finds him attractive. Rue leads her to Varina, who wants an abortion, but May Belle refuses...