Epilogue Summary

Following the burning of the barn, the townspeople talked more than ever before. Abigail sent her oldest two children off to boarding school to escape the painful rumors. The people of the town spoke of her grandfather as if he did something to be ashamed of, when all he did was love a woman and make their marriage and children legitimate. Abigail attempted to protect her family's estate, but her actions against the vandals only added to the local rumor mill. She was thought of as an uncontrollable woman, and, like her grandfather, carried a mark of shame about her. Oliver was her only legitimate friend in all of the county, and he stood by her. Abigail did not press charges against the townspeople, although she did know the identities of some of the men involved in the damage to her property.. Instead...