Poor Madeleine, what a horrifying assault! I'm glad she now has a mother figure in the kindly Mrs. Eade What does "ow' mauther" mean?
I would have liked to see the setdown Alice likely received (did she confess or was she forced out in the open by Mrs. Eade and Moyse?) I'm assuming we haven't seen the last of her, with her arrogant malice, she'll want revenge.
How sad that even Adam had a bad sort of a father. But how good that he turned out a decent and kind man in spite of it!
I'm somewhat curious as to what makes Madeleine special to Adam - yes, she is kind and fortright and makes the best of what she was given, and has the instincts of a true lady, but well, she was originally described as having rather unfortunate looks, so for Adam to describe her as attractive must be a sign that his feelings already influence his perception. I'm assuming Madeleine hasn't started to change the line of her eyebrows?
For Madeleine to cry out to "Adam!" by first name is a telltale sign - I haven't noticed that she started to refer to him in her thoughts by first name (likely she hasn't, either).
Nice update, thank you!
