The House Is on Fire

Della shows up at the carriage shop to say goodbye to Cecily. Cecily is upset by her mother’s injuries and restates that she regrets coming back after the fire, but Della disagrees. She says she was wrong to tell Cecily that she shouldn’t have come back, and she is glad that she and the rest of their family know that Cecily is alive. Cecily asks if her mother will help her get ready, and they go to the backroom to prepare. They discuss Cecily’s cover story. Cecily asks how Gilbert can afford to send her north. She says she can’t take his money when she learns he was saving to buy his freedom. Della soothes her, saying that Kemp won’t sell Gilbert for any amount at the moment and that there’s a woman who wants to buy Sara’s freedom as a thank you to Gilbert. Della tells Cecily if she wants to repay Gilbert, she can look after someone else the way that Gilbert is looking after her.

Sally accidentally wakes up Mr. Scott. He is coherent for the first time since the fire and makes a joke about his injuries. Sally is glad that he has some sense of humor. She fills him in on where he is, and he tells her what he remembers of the fire. The last thing he remembers is staying behind to convince one of the women in the box to leave. Sally wonders if he is telling the truth or if he’s lying like so many other men. She tells him that she had Tom Marshall send word to his sister about his condition, and he expresses worry for her. Sally returns his wife’s miniature to him, and they begin to discuss their deceased spouses and commiserate over their losses.

The theater company has gathered in the tavern’s taproom. Jack worries that his confession will be revealed and that the members of the company will kill him. Word begins to spread that the funeral will be at the theater site, meaning that West sold the property. Ritchie arrives, reveals that he knows the truth, and claims that Mrs. Green came to him. He says the inquisition committee is willing to cut the theater company a deal now that West sold the land the theater was on to the city.

Gilbert wakes up in the Birdcage, the jail for Black people picked up by the slave patrol. Cecil, Della’s husband, is there with him. He asks if Gilbert has any news about Cecily. Gilbert is aware of how many people are near them and has Cecil lean in close. He says he has to act like he’s gotten news that Cecily is dead, but she isn’t. Cecil begins to weep, and Gilbert thinks that relief and grief are very similar.

Cecil tells Gilbert about how men keep being brought to jail because of the rumors about the slave revolt. Someone came by and identified a bunch of them, including Cecil, as the instigators. Gilbert asks about the man and realizes it was the same man from the theater company who came to rile up Kemp. They both hope that the truth will get out before any of the Black men who have been arrested are punished.

Della is brushing out Cecily’s hair, and Cecily thinks about how this is the last time her mother will comb her hair. She asks about the fact that Mr. Price is her biological father and whether her father knows. Della tells her he does, and that’s why he wanted to name her Cecily: because she was always his. Cecily mentions the name Gilbert gave her, and Della tells her about her grandmother Ruthie. Della says she has to go attend Cecily’s funeral. She gives her a small wooden bluebird that Cecil carved to carry with her as a good luck charm.

Ritchie outlines the deal: In exchange for the land the theater is on, the company is absolved of wrongdoing. Jack is upset; he wants his confession to make a difference and feels it is unfair that the company will go unpunished. Ritchie is making it seem like it was an unfortunate and unpreventable accident. Jack declares that his name should be in the report, as should everyone else’s. He admits to giving the confession, saying he deserves to face consequences for his actions. Ritchie simply tells the company to leave town as fast as possible.

Sally and Mr. Scott have been speaking for an hour. Sally reluctantly leaves to help Mrs. Cowley move the unidentified burned girl to the porch for the burial committee to collect, but she promises to return. She goes to check on Margaret first and realizes she has developed a fever, meaning that an infection has developed. Mrs. Cowley sends for a surgeon and acknowledges that there is little they can do for her now.

Anderson writes an apology on behalf of the company. All the lead actors except West sign, as he says he has sacrificed enough already. Ritchie asks Jack to lead him out and asks if he will stay in Richmond after the troupe leaves. Jack says the guilt is too much to stay, but it will be odd to be in a city where his father never lived. Ritchie remarks that Jack’s father was a good man, and he suspects that Jack will be too. Jack asks what will happen to all the Black men who were rounded up due to the lie, and Ritchie says they will be released eventually.

Jack goes back inside and asks to speak to Lydia Placide. She is upset with him, but he appeals to their friendship. She can’t understand why he would betray the company as they are both literally and figuratively her family. Jack goes to collect his things and sees Anderson’s bag, which he decides to steal as payback for everything he put him through. Jack also takes his copy of the Diderot script they performed the night of the fire and departs. Placide stops him and says that West wants to speak to him. Jack thinks that the problem with men like Placide is that other men treat them like they can’t be questioned.

Gilbert is still jailed, and he regrets missing the funeral. Sara comes to visit him, asking obliquely if Cecily made it out okay and why he is in jail. Gilbert tells her what happened and not to worry about him because every day that he’s in jail is a day that Kemp loses money. She tells him that the actors started the fire. Finally, Sara tells him that General Preston won’t sell Mrs. Johnston her freedom because Elizabeth is pregnant. She doesn’t want anyone to raise the baby but Sara. Gilbert tries to reason against this, but Sara tells him there’s no hope. Gilbert is devastated but says they can still have a good life together. He can tell that Sara has lost hope, but he believes his dreams are big enough for both of them.

West gives Jack a letter of introduction to use at the theaters in New York. Jack says he doesn’t deserve it, and West says that he understands how he feels, but the fire was a tragedy, not proof that Jack shouldn’t act. He gives Jack some money as well, and Jack expresses his regret that he had to sell the theater. West says it doesn’t matter. Jack says he is going to join the funeral, and West says he has to go.

Sally sits with Margaret waiting for Dr. Foushee. All they have been able to do for Margaret is make her more comfortable. Archie has not returned to Mrs. Cowley’s house. The burial committee arrives to collect the unidentified girl. Sally wonders whether it would be better to let people try to identify her, then reconsiders, thinking it might be better for grieving parents to believe that their daughter died quickly. Sally follows the girl’s body and watches as it is put in the ground. She thinks about how unfair it is that the women were left behind, and now they cannot share their stories. Returning to the house, Sally tells Mrs. Cowley that she is going to write down her own account of the fire.

Cecily and Samuel set off in the carriage. The streets are crowded due to the funeral, and Samuel is redirected from his original route to avoid the procession. Cecily briefly peeks out the window, thinking that she never imagined such a grand funeral for herself. As they continue, she hears Elliott’s voice outside the carriage. He is passing out Cecily’s flyer and appears desperate. He lets out a wail, and Cecily hopes it is the last sound she will ever hear from him. Cecily likes that Elliott now looks as “ugly” as she has always known him to be on the inside. The carriage continues, and as they leave Richmond, she looks out the window and sees Moses standing under a tree. He doesn’t wave but nods, “less a goodbye than an I’ll be seeing you” (364).