Rachel goes to live with Charlie at the mill.
Rachel is the older of Lyddie’s two little sisters. She is separated from Lyddie when their mother leaves the farm, taking Rachel and Agnes with her. Later, when she is at the factory, Lyddie gets a letter telling her that Agnes is dead and Rachel is not doing well. Soon after, her uncle shows up and he has Rachel with him. He tells her that they are selling the farm.
Rachel was too light. Boneless as a rag doll. As Lyddie went up the steps of the boardinghouse, she could feel her tiny burden trembling through the shawl. "It's all right, Rachie. It's me, Lyddie," she said, hoping the child could remember her. (Ch. 15)
Lyddie has been working hard to get her family back together again, but not like this. She wanted to pay off the debts on the family farm and get everyone back there. Having Rachel with her is really not going to work. Her factory boarding house does not allow children. There are limits to what she can do for Rachel. She is too young to work at the factory, and too small and frail.
Despite knowing all this, Lyddie still wants to make it work. She writes a letter to her brother Charlie, the next oldest child, and tells him that they have to keep the farm. When Lyddie went to work for the tavern, Charlie went to work for the mill. However, the family ended up taking him in and treating him like a son and they were interested in taking Rachel too.
Mrs. Phinney asked me to bring Rachel back. She craves a daughter as well. And she'll be so good to her, you'll see. … "She's never had a proper Ma, Rachel." (Ch. 18)
Lyddie realizes that Charlie and Rachel have a family and a home now, but it’s not with her. Her dream of getting the family back together is not going to get anywhere. All of Lyddie’s hard work has been for nothing. Although Lyddie is pleased that her sister will be taken care of and happy that her brother has a family, she is sad that she is not a part of their lives.
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