The Waters

Though no one yet knows it, Rose Thorn has not left. She remains in hiding on the island, but she is not yet ready to allow Molly to take her to the hospital to receive treatment. She is certain that even if the tumor is removed, its roots will remain and it will regrow. She wanders to a small cave near Rose Cottage that is called the Fox Den; she has come here before. Now, she sees that Wild Will is living there. The two talk, as Wild Will has learned about Rose Thorn’s cancer from Donkey. Rose Thorn realizes he is the “ghost” that Donkey saw in Boneset House. Rose Thorn suspects that Hermine most likely knows that Wild Will has been in the Fox Den all along.

Rose Thorn sleeps in the Fox Den that night, and her sleep is peaceful. The next day, Wild Will brings her cranberry juice and a roasted rabbit. Rose Thorn drinks the juice and voices her disapproval of Wild Will’s relationship with Prim. Wild Will feels no shame for it and emphasizes that Prim is not his natural daughter. No one knows who Prim’s biological parents are. Rose Thorn thinks about her hatred for Titus Clay Senior and the rape, but she knows that without this event, Donkey would not exist, and she is certain that Donkey exists for a purpose.