The Life She Was Given

After Cole rescues Lilly from Merrick’s attack, the two of them are taken to Mr. Barlow’s car. Mr. Barlow demands that Cole pay Merrick for Lilly if he wants her to join the elephant show, but Cole has another plan: He and Lilly will get married as soon as she’s better, and if Mr. Barlow tries to stop them, Cole, Hank, and Lilly will join the Ringling Brothers circus instead. Mr. Barlow agrees not to stand in their way.

A week later, Lilly and Cole are married in Louisiana with all the circus performers in attendance. Lilly is content, grateful, and amazed at how her life has unfolded despite everything she has endured. She wonders “what Momma would think if she could see her now, loved by friends, happily married, and about to work with elephants under the big top” (245). She contemplates whether she can forgive her parents but concludes that some wounds cut too deep.

Over the next two weeks, Lilly and Cole work on the show to prepare for Lilly’s opening night as “Lilly the Albino Princess From Siam.” To her horror, Mr. Barlow has whitewashed Pepper so that she matches Lilly, billing the two as exotic creatures from the jungles of Thailand.