Hester

Isobel receives a letter from Edward, who again promises to return with riches, hopes she is pregnant, and encourages her to work only if necessary. She angrily compares her husband, who left her penniless, with Nat. Edward includes an obscure warning about Mercy and Zeke, whom she vows to protect. At Mrs. Adams’s shop, Abigail excitedly announces that Nat inquired about Isobel’s gloves, but all three pairs were sold to women from Philadelphia. Mrs. Adams commissions six more pairs, and Isobel negotiates for higher pay, but doesn’t receive as much as she deserves. She plans to steal customers for herself.

Feeling robbed by both Edward and Mrs. Adams, Isobel draws designs at the boulder where Nat often writes. She plans a scene from the biblical Garden of Eden for her shawl. Nat arrives, complimenting her success with the gloves and encouraging her to try her leopard design again. Isobel confesses that Mrs. Adams is not paying her fairly nor giving her credit for the gloves. She plans to make her own name, using her shawl, and shows him her design. Nat compliments it but reminds her to include the snake from the biblical Garden of Eden, citing it as the true source of temptation.