Chapter+Summaries

=Chapter Summaries=


 * Chapter I**: The scene is the graveyard where Miss Mary Finch is about to be buried. The chapter starts with Isabel, Ruth Pastor Weeks, and Mr. Robert Finch going to the grave yard. The book is told through the eyes of Isabel. The story of how Isabel's and Ruth's mom died was explained. Isabel talked about how she hoped to buy her home a head stone eventually.


 * Chapter II**: The funeral was over and Isabel tried to explain to Pastor Weeks and Mr. Robert that her and Ruth were to be freed. They obviously didn't believe her because slaves can't read so therefore she wouldn't know if it was in the will or not. Mr. Robert decided that the sooner he got rid of the girls the better. He decided he was going to auction them off to make some money and save time. Isabel definitely did not like this.


 * Chapter III**:The girl's were moved out of their house and couldn't take much of the stuff they really wanted that reminded them of home but Isabel did manage to take some seeds that were her moms. The group traveled from the funeral to a tavern where Isabel met Jenny. Jenny knew Isabel's mom and felt some sort or connection between Isabel and Ruth. So much so that she offered to spend all of her money to buy the girls when she found out that they would be put up for auction. After her offer got rejected Jenny took Isabel into the kitchen to talk about her about mom and how she knew her. After their talk she was then sold to the Locktons, a mean, brutal couple.


 * Chapter IV**: Isabel and Ruth were transported from New Port to New York by boat. They keep getting seasick and watch seagulls from the porthole. With every passing wave Isabel feels more disconnected from her ancestors.


 * Chapter V**: Isabel and Ruth are docked in New York. It is then when Isabel realizes that the Lockton's ar a Loyalist couple. Mrs. Lockton becomes violent and slaps Isabel after Ruth started to laugh because the soldiers were trying to search her underclothes. Ruth laughed, but Isabel took the blow. In this chapter Isabel meets a boy named Curzon who is a slave of the Bellington's. She is sent to go fetch water with him.


 * Chapter VI**: Curzon take Isabel (he calls her Country) to the water pump. On the way they stop to get something for Mr. Bellington. Curzon comes out with two rolls. Isabel eats hers really quickly and Curzon gives her his roll. As they head to the water pump Curzon starts to talk about the Locktons and how they are Loyalists. He tries to get her to be a spy for the Patriots. Isabel refuses even though it could help her get the freedom Ruth and her want.


 * Chapter VII**: Curzon walks Isabel home. When she gets inside she meets Becky, the Locktons servant. Becky tells her about the house rules. She shows her the library saying that she can only go in with permission. Isabel learns that the Locktons really are Loyalists even though they claim to be Patriots. Becky leaves to go to the bakers and leaves Isabel with a list of chores to do before the Locktons return home.


 * Chapter VIII**: This is Isabel's first day of work for the Locktons and it's not going very well. Mrs.Lockton points out everything Isabel does wrong. She also decided to keep Ruth as her personal servant so she could do anything she wants for her.


 * Chapter IX**: The chapter starts with Isabel sharpening knives imagining that she is cutting the ropes that tie her to New York. Mrs.Lockton wants to show her friend, Lady Seymour, who Isabel is. She calls her Sal and tells her to go put shoes on. Mr.Lockton requested some refreshments for him and his friends. Isabel goes to deliver them to him in the library. She stays and listens to their whole conversation about the British Invasion.


 * Chapter X**: All of the Lockton's guests leave the house, as does Becky. The sisters go down to bed. Isabel asked Ruth why she was crying in the parlor earlier today. Ruth told her not to worry about it. When Ruth was asleep Isabel sneaks out of the house to go find Curzon to tell him what she had found out from Mr.Lockton himself. She tells him that the Locktons are hiding money before she tells her to good job and go back home.


 * Chapter XI**: The girls experienced the tough tasks of everyday life in the Lockton's household. They went though many challenging chores and Isabel kept talking about her hopes and dreams of freedom. She was hoping the rebels would show up and arrest the Locktons for having ties to the king. Isabel is asked to prepare the drawing room. Rebels show up saying that they need lead for bullets. They went around the house taking lead off of the windows, when in all reality they were only searching for the linen chest that Isabel told Curzon about. The rebeles hoped to find money but only found it full of dirty clothes. They arrested Mr,\.Lockton anyways over suspicion of helping the king and they took him away. Mrs.Lockton was very surprised but she still didn't know that her plan was exposed. Mrs.Lockton responded by yelling at Isabel to clean up the dirty clothes.


 * Chapter XII**: Mrs.Lockton fainted. Isabel was sent by Becky to go and get Lady Seymour. She walked to her house and was invited inside. Lady Seymour gave her milk and cookies. She actually treated her like a real person instead of a slave. This was showed when she said thinks like 'please' and 'thank you'. After their talk and milk and cookies Lady Seymour sent Isabel to give a message to the lawyer saying that Mr.Lockton would be set free soon.


 * Chapter XIII**: Mr.Lockton is released from jail and comes home looking for his wife. They reside upstairs where they get into a violent fight and start to break things. Becky, Isabel< and Ruth sit at the bottom of the steps listening to them yell at each other. Isabel went up stairs to give Mrs.Lockton a drink and a cold compress for her lip that she claimed to have gotten because she had slipped due to Isabel, not scraping candle wax off of the floor. Isabel proceeded to serve Mr.Lockton and his friends for the next few weeks, listening intently on their conversations. She was looking for anything she tell to Curzon. Isabel then got the job of going to the Tea Water Pump where Curzon reminded her to tell him anything that might be useful. She went back home, made Ruth a corn husk doll, and goes to the library to take a book to read. Later the next morning she goes and plants one of the mystery seeds from Momma.


 * Chapter XIV**: Isabel is demanded to serve Mr. Lockton and his guests. His guests are the mayor of New York and two other Goldbuttons. The four men talk about bribing the Patriots to surrender to their side. However, their main conversation was about General Washington. They talked about killing him to get Parliament to do whatever they want and that they have a man named Thomas Hickey who is on the inside of Washington's army. After talking about the plans Mr. Lockton handed his big stack of money to the mayor and had him sign a document with the names of the people in on their plan. After this he had Isabel bring him some more wine but she had run out so she retreated to the kitchen. Next she heard screaming.


 * Chapter XV**: Isabel ran to the kitchen to see Ruth on the floor having a seizure and Mrs. Lockton standing over her beating her with a broom calling her a devil child. By instinct Isabel ran over to her sister, put her body on top of her, and she started to get hit with the broom. Mr. Lockton came into the kitchen inquiring what was going on. Mrs. Lockton told him that Ruth had the devil inside of her and that she needed to be sold. Mr. Lockton said no and left Mrs. Lockton pretty angry. Becky went to go deliver the wine to Mr. Lockton and his guests.


 * Chapter XVI**: Isabel was in bed that night with the thought that she needed to flee the city with Ruth. She got up and went to the library and unlocked the top drawer of Mr.Lockton’s desk to search for the document with the names of the people in on their plan to preserve the peace of the king. When she found it she slipped it into her skirt pocket, relocked the drawer, and crept out of the house in search of someone she could give the information to in return for a trip back to Rhode Island. She ended up talking to Colonel Regan. After they talked he handed the note back to Isabel so she could put it back where she found it. He told her to come back to him if he had found any more information and that he would do his best to try and get Isabel and Ruth back to Rhode Island. He then had her repeat the code which was //ad astra//. This was Latin meaning ‘to the stars".


 * Chapter XVII**: Isabel was practicing her password incase she needed to use it in the future. The mayor came by the house and rushed to tell Mr. Lockton that their plan had been uncovered and that Americans were coming to get him. Isabel is sent by Mr. Lockton to go get Mrs. Lockton from the city and he starts to flee the city in a crate labled ‘CHEESE’. Mrs. Lockton is angry because she doesn’t want to get in trouble but she can’t flee with her husband because she has to stay behind so the Americans can’t take everything they own.


 * Chapter XVIII**: Isabel and Ruth attended the hanging of Thomas Hickey in the town square. Madam Lockton stayed home sleeping because she was hungover from drinking away her sorrows of Mr.Lockton fleeing town. Isabel saw Curzon at the hanging.


 * Chapter XIX**: The girls went to an Anglican church for mass instead of the Congressional church they went to at home. While in the middle of mass a boy ran through the church doors and said, “Beggin’ pardon, Reverend, but the British have sailed into the harbor!” All the towns people went to Wall Street where guns and cannons fired. Isabel was thinking about taking Ruth and running away in all the commotion. Ruth got scared from the cannon shots so Isabel had to carry her home and run ahead of Lady Seymour and Mrs. Lockton so she could do the chores. Later that day Ruth and Isabel went to go wash table clothes. Ruth washed rocks that she had found with the table clothes and when Mrs. Lockton saw this she was not pleased.


 * Chapter XX**: Militia units filled New York and it began to smell because the soldiers didn’t bathe. Ten days after the British invaded the Congress read the Declaration of Independence. The men then marched down Broadway where a statue of the king on his horse stood. They threw ropes over it and strained themselves to tear it down. Then men started to smash the statue to more pieces with axes. Isabel wondered how man could be cutting through tough rock with axes but she soon found out the statue was made of soft lead covered in gilt paint. When Isabel returned to the house she was surprised that Madam baked a cake and left some for her and Ruth and gave Isabel the night off for peace. Isabel was taken aback by this action because that was definitely not like Madam Lockton to be nice to her. She figured she would read with her spare time but she fell asleep. The last sentence was Isabel saying she will never forgive herself for falling asleep that night.


 * Chapter XXI**: Ruth woke up in her bed alone. In a panic she ran to the kitchen and asked Becky where Ruth went. Isabel found out Madam Lockton sold Ruth. Becky told her that Ruth was bought by a physicians family where she will work as a house maid in Nevis in the West Indies. Furious, Isabel went to Madam Lockton and confronted her. Madam Lockton proceeded to hit her with a painting over the head and ran away. Becky opened the front door and told Isabel to run away. Isabel ran down Wall Street. She ran to Colonel Regan. She told him what happened with Ruth. Then Mrs. Lockton came in and stated that Isabel violently abused her. She demanded that Isabel was returned to her. Isabel begging Colonel Regan to help her but he said he couldn’t do anything to help her with this one. She bolted for the window. She almost made it.


 * Chapter XXII**: Isabel wakes up with the barrel of a gun to her chin. People beat up Isabel. They kicked her and punched her as she lay helpless bleeding. She went to jail. She landed a cell with a crazy woman inside of it. Everyday Curzon looks after her. Isabel was dragged to the stocks where she was to let everyone do what they wanted to do to her and would brand her. They would brand her with an “I” for Insolence for running away.


 * Chapter XXIII**: Isabel is let out of jail to be branded. The guard grabs Isabel as she steps out of the cells and put her by the stone where she is to be branded. She passes out after it happens. People take this to their advantage and start to beat on her again.


 * Chapter XXIV**: Isabel awoke in Lady Seymour’s house confused about what happened until Curzon told her. She found out she was branded and has been passed out for six days. She was staying in Lady Seymour’s house to get better before returning to the Lockton’s.


 * Chapter XXV**: Isabel is depressed about her little baby sister being sold. Madam didn’t look at Isabel and all of her orders went through Becky first because she couldn’t talk to Isabel. Curzon came around every day to talk to Isabel but she would ignore him. Isabel was sent to the market place in replace of Becky. When she is on her way home Curzon comes up behind her and tries to talk to her, but as usual she ignores him. When she gets to the house Madam Lockton told her that she will have Curzon arrested if he keeps coming to the house to talk to her. Isabel goes to tell him to leave and he apologizes for what happened and said he knows a sailor that might know where Ruth went. Then he asked her to spy for him again. Isabel got kind of angry, said no and slamed the gate to the house in his face. She told him that she would never talk to him again.


 * Chapter XXVI**: It began to storm and Isabel was demanded to clean the puddles that were created on the floor from the leaky windows. In the beginning of the chapter Isabel cut her hand on a blade at breakfast. This made her task of going to the water pump extremely difficult because she could barely carry an empty bucket. When she arrived at the water pump a crowd of people were talking about how the British Lord Dunmore offered freedom to those slaves that escaped to his camp. As these people keep talking Curzon comes up to the conversation and pitches in about his Master. He says that Master Bellingham promised freedom for those who enlisted in his place. Grandfather cut in saying the Jordan River was the only thing standing in between slaves and freedom. He tells Isabel to look hard for it. She makes her way back to the house with her heavy water buckets. Curzon comes up behind her and takes them from her and carries them all the way back home.


 * Chapter XXVII**: Madam was anxiously waiting the news of the final British victory. Becky and Isabel talked about the war. Becky told Isabel what injuries she had seen as she passed the camp ground. A lot of the men had parts of their bodies blown off. They also talked about how Washington melted the church bells to make cannons.


 * Chapter XXVIII**: the first bombs of the invasion happened while Isabel was in church Sunday morning. Madam stopped a man in uniform and asked him if this was the true invasion. He told her yes but not to worry because the generals knew what they were doing. They returned home and while Madam Lockton ate she made a grocery list for Isabel. She had no problem with sending Isabel out in the middle of the cannon blasts. When she reached the ruins of the chandler shop she found the door locked and the windows smashed to pieces. She decided to make this her shelter while the bombs blew up. When she felt save to leave again she crawled out through the window to leave.


 * Chapter XXIX**: Isabel was the only person on the street and she headed for the waterfront. She walked over and looked inside one of the tents seeing that they left everything in them. She heard voices and ran behind a barrel. Lobsterbacks became to span out across the waterfront with muskets held at ready position. The men started getting to the wharf and started to explore the waterfront area. Isabel went up to their captain saying that she could cook and clean and be of use to them. Another soldier interrupted her to tell her that the rebels had retreated. The captain told them to start to take their stuff. He began to wonder where Washington’s quarters were. Isabel gave him all the information he needed and he found out she was right. He let her tell him her story about why she wanted to help. His mouth harderned because he doesn’t proved help for slaves that run away from Loyalist owners. The captain returned to giving his men orders but one of them was familiar to Isabel. It was Mr. Lockton. He came up to her and asked why she was there and tried to guess what the “I” on her face meant but his guesses where wrong. The captain jumped in saying it was a common brand for most Boston people and that she came to greet him in the name of the King for rescuing the city from rebels. Mr. Lockton sent her back home.


 * Chapter XXX**: The British invaded New York. Soldiers were staying in empty houses like the Lockton’s and Lady Seymour’s the Hessians joined the British to help with the world. Isabel goes to Lady Seymour’s house to be her servent for a while. She woke up in the middle of the night to find New York in flames.


 * Chapter XXXI**: Isabel jumped out of bed, grabbed Ruth’s doll, and put on her shoes. She crawled on the floor to see Lady Seymour’s bedroom door opening. She yelled for Isabel to help her carry her trunk of valuables out of the burning house. It was too heavy to be moved so Lady Seymour started taking out letters and two small boxes along with a portrait and gave them to Isabel to takje out of the house with her. Lady Seymour grabbed two sacks of coins and they raced down the stairs. Lady Seymour cried for help and vanished she crumpled down the steps. She couldn’t move. Isabel put the doll and boxes on the ground and started to drag Lady Seymour out of the house. When they woke up Lady Seymour was confused about why the bells weren’t ringing but the bells were melted into cannons for the war. To get to safety the two of them went to the Lockton residence.


 * Chapter XXXII**: Nathan Hale was convicted of the fire that burned down New York. He was hung as punishment. Lady Seymour’s house burned down in the fire so her and Isabel were going back to Madam Lockton’s. She wasn’t very happy about this because she had to house them as well as more soldiers because it was the only place left standing. Isabel lost Ruth’s doll in the fire. She also had to share her tiny basement with five soldiers and their wives.


 * Chapter XXXIII**: Isabel talks about how everything outside is gray and it’s very cold. A lot of people can’t afford food because the prices keep doubling and these people are losing their houses and are broke. She also mentions that hers mom’s plant died because of the frost. Lady Seymour was getting better and Madam Lockton wasn’t too pleased about this. At Lady Seymour’s house Madam was talking about the British soldiers looted the City Hall library. They took books, ruined paintings, and broke equipment. Lady Seymour gave Isabel a heavy wool cloak. Isabel heard commotion on her way to the water pump where she found someone shouting “They got them!” The British soldiers captured the American Soldiers. She watched the soldiers walk with their heads down when she saw a face she knew.


 * Chapter XXXIV**: We found out the person she knew was Curzon. A supper was thrown at the Lockton house to celebrate the capture of General Washington. They were having turtle soup for dinner. Isabel had to carry all the trays of soup up the stairs of the house where the party was being thrown. Towards the end of dinner she snuck a bowl of soup to the backyard.


 * Chapter XXXV**: Isabel went to the prison Curzon was being kept in. She brought him a bucket of rice pudding to eat. When she got inside there was a bunch of hungry men and boys. The guard took her bucket. When she got it back half the food was gone. She saw Curzon lying on the floor with no blanket. He told her he was shot in the leg. The men around him begged for the food. They passed the bucket of food around the cell so everyone could have some. The men hadn’t eaten in three days. Before leaving the guard asked her if she would deliver a message to their captain.


 * Chapter XXXVI**: Lady Seymour had a very bad fever. Mrs. Lockton, trying to kill Lady Seymour, wanted to send her on a long cold trip but the doctor wouldn’t like her do that. While Lady Seymour was ill Isabel was sent out to run her errands. One day she had to go to the bakery and then get ink and newspaper from the bookstore. She was looking at the books when the man at the front desk appeared holding out a book. He told her to take it but not let anyone know about it.


 * Chapter XXXVII**: Isabel got a day off after lunch. Madam and she had a conversation about her visits to the prison. She told her to never go to the prison. Isabel was scared by the whole conversation. She decided to enjoy her Christmas and not have any negative thoughts as she was strolling the streets of New York.


 * Chapter XXXVIII**: It was Christmas Eve morning and Isabel had already gone to the prison, pump, and tavern. She was cutting holly berries and twigs for Madam for her holiday decorations. Isabel had Christmas off and decided to spend it strolling in New York. Lady Seymour got Isabel a new pair of leather shoes and Madam Lockton got her nothing. Later Madam Lockton confronted Isabel about visiting the prison to give table scraps to the enemy. She forbids her to go to the prison because it could make her and Mr. Lockton look like they are rebels. She went out again and got home and cried remembering her Christmas memories she had with Mamma. She ended up in the kitchen making herself some pudding. She decided to clean herself with some soap. She went out through the back door to the Canvastown and went up to a tent with her bowl of pudding. She explained her mission and shared her pudding and Christmas with the family.


 * Chapter XXXIX**: Isabel went to the market to get fish when Captain Morse came up behind her and said he had some news to tell his soldiers. She will come back later. Isabel arrives home and Mrs. Lockton tells her she doesn’t need her to go to the water pump in the morning. Isabel makes up a lie that she likes the fresh air so that she could get out of the house to go to the prison to help Captain Morse. When she does get out of the house she is given a loaf of bread to deliver to the prison. There is a note inside the bread saying Washington won the battle at Trenton to get their hopes up. The men were very excited.


 * Chapter XL**: On her daily trip to the prison the guard tells Isabel that he would pay Mrs. Lockton if she would clean the jail cells. He also says that he would keep an eye on Curzon if she did it. Sarah had a baby boy named George. Later that day Lady Seymour called Isabel to talk to her. She said that she wanted to but her the moment she met her. Isabel couldn’t help but think her life would be different if Lady Seymour had taken Ruth and Isabel.


 * Chapter XLI**: Madam is telling Isabel to get the seamstress. Then she listens to the soldier’s wives and then goes to help Lady Seymour with everything because she is paralyzed. Madam Lockton askes if she is going to die but the doctor doesn’t know.


 * Chapter XLII**: Doctor Dastuge comes to see Lady Seymour and she is paralyzed and can’t talk. She just nods her head yes or no. Isabel read common sense and it talked about how no one should get the crown and every man is equal. After that she finds Captain Morse and he tells her to deliver a penny to someone. She delivered the penny and received a piece of folded paper. Madam Lockton whips her with a crop and says “How dare you?” when she walked inside the house.


 * Chapter XLIII**: Madam Whipped Isabel because someone saw her talking to the Rebels. Madam was furious and slapped her after Isabel threw the note into the fire. Madam said she would sell Isabel. But what caught Isabel’s attention is that Madam said she would sell her sister too. Isabel found out she hadn’t sold Ruth. She had been sent to Charleston because Madam couldn’t find a buyer. Madam got ready for the Queen’s ball and locked Isabel in the potato bin. Later Hannah brought her a chamber pot, water, and a blanket. She broke through the bin. She wrote herself a fake note saying she was free. She planned to escape.


 * Chapter XLIV**: Isabel grabbed her stuff and left. She took all of her clothes and //Common Sense//. She went to say goodbye to Lady Seymour and took a coin from her bag. Lady Seymour said she could keep it. She left the house and went to the prison. She came to get Curzon. She had him pretend he was dead sp she could get him out of jail.


 * Chapter XLV**: Isabel planned to get a boat to leave. Curzon and Isabel made it safely into a boat because fireworks distracted the guards. Isabel rowed and her hands became bloody and blistered. She woke up in the morning in New Jersey. Isabel offered to help Curzon out of the boat. That was the end of book __Chains__.