The Giver of Stars

One of the unspoken rules in Baileyville involves not getting involved in other people’s personal affairs. Luckily for Alice, Margery doesn’t follow many rules. Margery cleans Alice up without asking much and allows her to stay at her place; Sven, too, looks after her. When Mr. Van Cleve arrives and demands that Alice come home after their “heated disagreement,” Margery tells him to leave while brandishing her rifle. Mr. Van Cleve, who always gets his way, finally leaves but with a warning: “You watch your back, Margery O’Hare” (196).

Margery and Alice later head to the library, where Izzy and Beth see Alice’s bruises firsthand. Margery’s terse demeanor discourages them from broaching the subject, and the three women—Margery, Beth, and Izzy—divvy up Alice’s routes. Fred arrives later, bringing soup. When he sees Alice face, his face clouds over. Though he thinks Bennett beat her, he’s even more annoyed to learn it was Mr. Van Cleve. Fred tenderly assesses her face, then allows her to eat. He finally tells her that his wife, Selena, cheated on him. Selena hated living in the mountains and left with a traveling salesman. Everyone told him to beat her and put her in her place, but Fred refused to mistreat her.