FAREWELL, KITTY CAT!
One of the best bits of dialogue ever:
Abigail: I think that Josette has lured Jeremiah away! You are blind to the devil’s work!
Naomi [dryly]: If the devil has blinded me, Abigail, I find it curious that he lets you in on all of his plans. [YOU GO, GIRL!]
Naomi's gown of pearl gray with darker gray trim is very nice, but not one of my favorites. Abigail wears only one or two plain gowns and covers her hair with a cap, even though she is unmarried and doesn't have to. (I guess Naomi is the exception to the rule.)
Abigail finds Vicki in her room and refuses to leave the room before Vicki does. After all, it's Abigail’s house and she can go where she pleases and when. She stays behind to give the cat a talking-to about its evil ways. She turns her back for a moment to ransack Vicki’s dresser drawers for anything incriminating. Suddenly there is a flash and a bang and a puff of smoke and a long wailing cry. When she turns around with a shriek, Joshua is sitting on the bed. He is totally disoriented but manages to catch his fainting sister in his arms.
Downstairs, the countess has taking over grilling Vicki when Abigail enters with Joshua. He orders everyone except Naomi out of the room. Naomi asks Vicki to go to the kitchen to get some broth for Joshua. The moment everyone has left, a brief but revealing domestic scene follows. Naomi gently steers Joshua to a chair by the fire, then sits opposite him, leaning forward to study his face anxiously for any sign of pain or distress. Are you all right? she asks gently. Unconsciously revealing his trust in her, he replies quietly, The important thing is that I’m here now. Tell me everything, just as it happened.