Her Father's Daughter guide

Summary

Characters

• DonaldAlso WhitingHelperFrom Chapter 1
• LindaAlso Cotyledon, Jane, MeredithLeadFrom Chapter 1
• EileenVillainFrom Chapter 1
• OkaAlso SayyeRivalFrom Chapter 1
• KatyAlso Donovan, KatherineHelperFrom Chapter 1
• JohnAlso GilmanSuitorFrom Chapter 1
• MarianAlso ThorneHelperFrom Chapter 1
• PeterAlso MorrisonLoveFrom Chapter 2
• EugeneAlso SnowHelperFrom Chapter 3
• HenryAlso AndersonSuitorFrom Chapter 3
• MaryAlso LouiseOtherFrom Chapter 9
• Mr. WorthingtonGatekeeperFrom Chapter 17
• DanaAlso Dana MeadeOtherFrom Chapter 18
• Mrs. WhitingGuardianFrom Chapter 21
• Aunt CallieHelperFrom Chapter 32

Chapter by chapter

Storylines

• Linda challenges Donald's academic effort, provoking wounded pride and an unresolved argument.

  • Linda reopens their confrontation, but Donald refuses to fight, accepts her correction and asks for help improving his academic performance.

• Donald becomes curious about Linda and recognizes her intelligence despite his dismissive first impression.

  • Donald visits and becomes absorbed in helping with Linda's car; their shared activity establishes companionship, and Linda promises to show him the plant collection.
  • Their outing deepens mutual esteem: Linda revises her judgment of Donald's usefulness, while Donald admires her interests, imagines close friendship and hopes for her personal help.
  • Donald welcomes further time with Linda, and she takes pleasure in his approval and apparent academic progress.
  • Donald offers friendship, and Linda decides to accept it.
  • Their former antagonism gives way to explicit mutual friendship. Donald values Linda independently of her clothes, trusts her loyalty, and becomes an understanding companion who shares her interests.

• Linda's close bond with her late father persists through his teachings, possessions and the grief she has endured since his death.

  • The account returns to Linda's grief associated with the family car disaster, sustaining the loss underlying her attachment to her father.
  • Linda invokes her place at her father's table, and John introduces her naturalist interests through her father's influence.
  • Linda recognizes that her father filled both parental roles, seeks some of his lost companionship from John, and learns of his unsuspecting trust in her mother.
  • Linda invokes her father's driving instruction, safeguards his papers, shares the history of their plant collection and retrieves his hat to wear.
  • Driving revives her former experiences, her father's instruction informs her academic advice, and his library becomes a resource for helping Donald.
  • Linda's remembered pride in driving with her father's permission sustains her attachment to him.
  • Linda continues to apply her father's ideas and adapt his library; recounting the fatal crash and receiving Peter's help connect her grief with a renewed sense of being cared for.
  • Linda continues to rely on her father's teachings and their shared experiences; Donald's companionship begins to answer the loss of someone who understood her interests.
  • Linda's delight in her room renews her longing for her father, and Katy recognizes his teaching in her articles.

• Linda intends to overcome her fear of motor cars and resume driving her father's roadster after servicing it, postponing mountain driving.

  • Linda renews her intention to drive her runabout, but overcoming her fear remains a condition.
  • Linda actively prepares the stored roadster, lowers it from its jacks, arranges supplies and accepts Donald's help with a cautious start and inspection. Driving has not yet begun.
  • Linda has the car attended to, resumes driving into the canyon, experiences exhilaration and commits to continuing to drive it.

• Linda comes to regard Eileen's control of the household, distribution of estate money and use of her domestic labor as unfair, and resolves to challenge the arrangement.

  • Linda reiterates Eileen's control of the property income and turns her needed domestic labor into leverage, persisting despite Eileen's anger and securing agreement to invite Marian.
  • Linda concludes that Eileen has spent her clothing allowance and assigned her a servant's role. She asserts her right to dine with guests and successfully takes a social lead despite Eileen's anger; the wider household dispute remains unsettled.
  • Linda turns habitual submission into a definite intention to defend her rights and expose Eileen's wrongdoing. She prepares specific demands and approaches Eileen after her return, endorsing Katy's advice to keep her temper; the confrontation remains pending.
  • Linda directly rejects servitude and demands equality, conceding the touring car and suite while pressing for half the income after household expenses. Eileen recognizes her seriousness and offers private accounting and a fair division; implementation remains pending.
  • Eileen recognizes Linda's resistance but privately intends to maintain the financial inequality.
  • Seeing Linda work late prompts John to consider whether Eileen controls her clothing and social appearances, bringing the unequal arrangement under his scrutiny.
  • The dress misunderstanding exposes the continuing unequal distribution of clothing; Linda also challenges Eileen's social pretensions and obtains ownership of the Roman scarf.
  • Linda's rebellion against deprivation produces a promise of a reasonable allowance, though payment has yet to begin.
  • Royalties emerge as another estate income source, and John considers the income sufficient for Linda's needs; Eileen counters with claims of financial strain and household expenditure.
  • Linda presses for a financial settlement, demonstrates the disparity between the sisters' living conditions to John, wins his recognition of the injustice, and destroys Eileen's cheque.
  • Linda brings her grievance to the bank, learns that estate income substantially exceeds recorded expenditure and that Eileen has a private account, and announces her intention to obtain settlement at majority.
  • Linda presses for a fair income division, but Eileen's accusation that Linda exploits her household labor shocks and hurts Linda, renewing their conflict.
  • Linda overhears Eileen's failed attempt to withdraw disputed funds and suspects wrongdoing, although she also feels sorrow for her; ownership remains unsettled.
  • The royalty deposits expose the basis of Eileen's private funds; Linda gains financial independence and directs an equal division of surplus income.
  • Linda discovers the separately accumulated royalties and receives an equal share after their restoration, but new proof concerning Eileen leads her to seek another settlement.

• Donald intends to visit Linda on Saturday to resume their argument; Linda intends to press him to surpass Oka and probably permit no further visits.

  • Donald makes the planned visit, but car preparations and a proposed outing displace the intended argument; Linda welcomes further time with him.
  • The intended confrontation takes place and secures Donald's commitment to surpass Oka; their planned return to search the library extends their association.

• Linda intends to demand exclusive use of the attic billiard room, sell its billiard table to obtain a work table and rug, and demand more clothing money from Eileen.

  • Linda renews her demand for clothing money as a personal allowance and prepares a definite account of the changes she intends to require.
  • Linda asserts her claim to the billiard room, plans workroom alterations, and demands suitable school and evening clothes. Eileen undertakes to investigate providing clothes, but the room arrangements and purchases are not shown as completed.
  • Linda arranges a furniture appraisal and makes a concrete plan for Saturday disposal and conversion of the billiard room into a secluded study.
  • Furniture disposal is arranged and the book valuation makes work equipment affordable, although Linda is prepared to divert billiard-table proceeds to necessary tires.
  • Furniture is removed and paid for, Linda continues seeking a suitable workspace, and Eileen promises an allowance.
  • The billiard-room conversion is underway, and Linda considers concrete improvements with Peter and Henry's practical support.
  • Linda plans book sales to fund furniture and an immediate worktable order; John offers furnishing help.
  • Linda's study now has the fireplace commissioned by Henry and Peter; she intends to add rugs and more furniture when she can afford them.

• Linda seeks to preserve her father's roadster and library as her own property, securing Eileen's agreement.

  • Linda relinquishes her claim to the touring car while asserting control of the library and renewing her intention to use her own runabout. Eileen's agreement to Linda's property claims is not recorded.
  • Linda exercises control over the library by identifying technical medical books for sale, arranging a dealer's visit and resolving to obtain the highest possible prices.
  • Linda invests in the roadster, commits to keeping it and plans practical use of her father's library.

• Linda has undisclosed plans to earn small amounts of money.

  • Linda puts her earning scheme into practice by preparing and packaging an illustrated article under a pen name; no submission or payment is yet recorded.
  • Linda considers additional paid work if her promised allowance cannot cover suitable clothes; the work remains unspecified.
  • Linda receives substantial writing income and deposits it in her own name while securing Worthington's confidence.

• Katy protects and cares for Linda, continuing an alliance with her father against her neglect.

  • Katy learns how Linda was injured, and Linda repeatedly commits to helping her with the dinner, extending their alliance through reciprocal practical support.
  • Katy supports Linda's assertion of her place at dinner by agreeing to prepare and serve the expanded meal.
  • Katy commits to telling Linda what she knows, discloses the household's financial deception, and advises Linda to defend her rights without losing her temper.
  • Katy praises Linda's cooking, supports careful driving, offers tire money and prepares a generous lunch. Linda plans to take Katy riding once her finances permit.
  • Katy helps provision the outing, and Linda identifies her to Donald as her dearest person.
  • Linda rewards Katy's care with an outing, while Katy finances her accessories and commits to protecting and caring for her even without pay.
  • Katy supports Linda through care, a search for Marian's sketch, and a loan for clothing.
  • Katy offers her savings and further help furnishing the room, while Linda shares its inscription and entrusts her authorial secret to her.
  • Linda seeks Katy's sympathy over Marian's defeat and takes comfort in her agreement.
  • Katy celebrates Linda's birthday, supplies suitable clothes and reassures her; Linda promises further confidences.
  • Linda shares gifts, financial discoveries and publishing success with Katy; Katy confirms the dress as a gift and responds with overwhelming affection.
  • Katy follows Linda into danger, confronts Oka, and reaffirms her intention to remain Linda's caregiver rather than accept retirement.
  • Katy explains her past endurance of household injustice for Linda's father's sake, and Linda affirms Katy's place by including and needing her on the outing.

• Linda resents Eileen's interference with John and Marian; Eileen has begun pursuing John following his professional and financial success.

  • Linda describes John's attachment as having shifted from Marian to Eileen and confronts Eileen over it. With John expected at dinner and Marian planning to leave, Linda pressures Eileen into inviting Marian; the romantic conflict remains unresolved.
  • Eileen's deliberate pursuit of John and the transfer of his attentions from Marian become explicit. Linda recognizes the harm Eileen has caused and resolves to speak against her wrongdoing.
  • Eileen seeks to repair John's impression of her, dismisses Marian as a romantic competitor, and visibly captivates John.
  • Eileen wins John's attachment, turns him against Marian's suitability as a wife and accepts his marriage proposal.
  • Linda learns of Eileen's preference for Peter and anticipates further disappointment for John.
  • Linda openly condemns John's choice of Eileen over Marian, and John subsequently defends Marian to Eileen.

• John holds responsibility for Doctor Strong's business affairs, while Linda retracts an unfair insinuation against his honor.

  • Linda tentatively considers whether John or the bank manages royalties; John identifies the bank as their destination and affirms the estate's ability to support her.
  • John learns of Linda's demand and commits to following her instructions concerning the estate despite his engagement; Linda subsequently releases him from acting for her.

• Linda has settled an undisclosed use for her botanical drawing and a place to grow the rare Cotyledon she collects.

  • Linda applies her botanical illustration to an article intended for an editor; her plans for growing the Cotyledon remain unaddressed.

• Peter seeks a site for a home and is considering the Los Angeles area.

  • Peter decides to settle locally and reduces his house and land requirements to secure the location. Marian releases him from protecting her chosen site, but no particular property is secured.
  • Peter inspects sites, selects three for further consideration, and privately settles on building near Los Angeles.
  • Peter's search progresses to surveying the plateau and planning its buildings and access, with its owner being traced through records.
  • Peter has chosen the Lilac Valley site and placed its purchase in escrow with payment.

• Eileen intends to show the visiting party the valley.

  • Eileen joins the party for the planned valley outing, which concludes.

• John makes any future house-building conditional on Marian drawing the plans.

• Having sold her beloved home, Marian plans to use the proceeds to study her profession in a city and considers entering an architectural prize competition in San Francisco.

  • Marian's architectural prize pursuit becomes a concrete reason for her accelerated departure. Her design is nearly finished, she shows Linda preliminary sketches, and she boards her train.
  • Marian commits to architectural study and the competition, leaves the valley, reaches San Francisco, and secures accommodation suitable for living and working.
  • Marian reports satisfactory lodging, new friendships and a helpful colleague as she establishes herself away from home.
  • Marian now intends to enter Nicholson and Snow's competition on reaching San Francisco.
  • Marian gains a working place at Nicholson and Snow and submits her dream-house contest plans; she plans to announce victory or investigate and correct failure.
  • Marian receives no competition prize and suffers profound disappointment, although she resolves to continue working.

• Linda secures Eileen's agreement to invite Marian to dinner by making her own assistance conditional on the invitation; Marian's attendance remains unsettled.

  • Linda discovers that Eileen never invited Marian, secures Marian's agreement herself, arranges dinner for six with Katy, and brings Marian into the dinner company.

• Linda undertakes to give Marian dinner and overnight shelter before her departure.

• Marian hopes her architectural earnings will enable her to return and build a new home on her chosen site.

  • Marian's attachment to her retreat and confidence in her designs support a firm intention to build there eventually and earn her living designing homes for others.

• Linda seeks to conceal her earlier canyon meeting with Peter and Henry, and both understand her wish.

  • Linda shares the earlier canyon encounter and the men's identities and activities with Donald, widening knowledge of the meeting beyond its original participants.

• Linda intends eventually to copy Marian's house design after correcting faults revealed by its use.

  • Linda now intends to employ Marian to design her future house, revising her earlier intention merely to copy Marian's design.

• Marian loses custody of a sheet of her house sketches when it blows into the garden; the remaining drawings are packed and she departs.

  • The lost sketch passes into Henry's possession; he finds its architectural lines interesting and secretly keeps it.
  • Marian notices the missing sheet and requests a search; Katy reports finding nothing and mistakenly supposes it was lost on the train.
  • Neither Katy's search nor Linda's search of Marian's house and lawn recovers the missing sketch.
  • Linda recovers Marian's missing sketch from Henry's coat and takes custody of it.

• Marian recognizes that she has lost John's companionship and loving attentions to Eileen.

  • Linda hopes to find evidence that John misses Marian, but his captivation by Eileen prevents an honest reassuring report.
  • John's attachment and engagement to Eileen consolidate Marian's loss of his loving attentions; Eileen also persuades him that Marian would seek to dominate their home.
  • Marian's loss of John's romantic loyalty is reaffirmed.
  • The account establishes the mutual expectation of a home that John abandoned, along with his guilt and belief that Marian now despises him.
  • Comparison with her anonymous correspondent helps Marian recognize John's weaknesses, changing her understanding of the attachment she lost.
  • Marian rejects the possibility of renewing her relationship with John and abandons romantic expectations founded on hints.

• Linda seeks paternal companionship from John, but her admiration for him gives way to near contempt.

  • Linda's initial impression of John's concern gives way to disappointment when he becomes absorbed in Eileen, and she leaves.
  • Linda resolves to manage the sales without consulting John, carrying her withdrawal of trust into action.
  • John offers practical help and enjoys Linda's company, but she explicitly judges his treatment of Marian a serious mistake.
  • Linda reports a further loss of esteem for John.
  • Linda turns to John as a witness to her treatment, and he recognizes its injustice and offers practical support, although she ultimately chooses to act herself.
  • Linda feels revulsion at the cigarette explanation but recognizes John's sincere belief and restored happiness, choosing not to expose Eileen further.
  • Linda explicitly tells John that she no longer loves him or respects his judgment as she once did.
  • John's renewed devotion to Eileen again provokes Linda's disgust.

• Katy reveals to Linda that her mother inflated household accounts for her own and Eileen's benefit while her father trusted her and blamed Katy for extravagance.

• Eileen seeks to conciliate Linda and treat their rupture as forgotten in order to recover control over her.

  • The risk of Katy's disclosures to John constrains Eileen's antagonism, and she grants Linda the Roman scarf.
  • Eileen offers an allowance, sends a cheque and reports paying The Mode's bill, but Linda rejects the cheque after examining the evidence against Eileen's account of financial sacrifice.

• Linda faces ridicule from schoolgirls and schoolboys because of her inadequate clothing, increasing the stakes of her demand for suitable clothes.

  • Wearing the dress brings Linda acknowledgment and compliments from previously inattentive schoolgirls, improving her standing without establishing that the broader ridicule has ended.
  • Linda identifies Donald's ridicule of her clothing as an injury that helped provoke her effort to escape deprivation.
  • Social inclusion and respect replace the recorded ridicule, and Linda ceases to be preoccupied with her shoes.

• Eileen will show the household accounts and divide the remaining estate income on terms Linda judges fair; Linda accepts this private bargain, conditionally defers bank intervention, and postpones further discussion until the first of the month.

  • Eileen's private intention to continue restricting Linda's finances runs against their agreement to a division Linda judges fair; the agreed accounting has not yet occurred.
  • The fair allowance is reaffirmed but remains deferred until the first of the month; no accounts or division of income are supplied.
  • Eileen promises a reasonable allowance beginning next month; the accounts and actual division remain unsettled.
  • Linda still expects the allowance discussion; John's assessment of adequate income conflicts with Eileen's account of financial hardship.
  • Linda commits to returning early tomorrow to review and settle the finances with Eileen, intends to open a bank account, and expresses willingness to accept less than half so Eileen can have her chance first.
  • The promised accounting and mutually acceptable division remain unsettled. Linda interprets Eileen's absence as avoidance, plans independent bank inquiries, and rejects the cheque accompanying the allowance offer.
  • Linda treats the private agreement as broken, proceeds with bank intervention, and abandons further cheque requests; Eileen refuses the proposed settlement visit.
  • Linda requests a Thursday meeting at the bank with Eileen and John to divide the income fairly and proposes continued household management.
  • At the bank, Linda replaces the deferred private bargain with explicit instructions for household provision, pooled funds, separate bank books and equal surplus shares; execution is not shown.
  • The reported settlement restores the royalties, allocates household expenses and divides the remainder equally.

• Eileen undertakes to see whether she can promptly provide Linda with suitable clothes.

  • Eileen sends the dress, and Linda obtains complementary clothing with Katy's loan and wears the outfit to school.

• Eileen grows envious of Linda's attractiveness and ability to interest men, recognizing that Linda will resist her control.

  • Eileen becomes furious over Linda's use of her dress and feels exposed by Linda's response to her preference for Peter.
  • Eileen's jealousy becomes explicit rivalry as Linda attracts the men's company; unable to object legitimately to her driving, Eileen seeks another way to curb her popularity.
  • Watching Linda leave with Donald provokes unprecedented envy and discontent in Eileen.

• Eileen intends to keep Linda's finances severely restricted until a man's involvement forces a more equal division.

  • Linda accepts bank protection for the disputed funds and chooses to await legal settlement rather than continue depending on Eileen's discretionary payments.

• Linda prepares an illustrated miner's-lettuce article under the name Jane Meredith for submission to Everybody's Home.

  • The magazine has begun a department with Linda's introduction and two installments, with permanent responsibility conditional on success.

• Henry conceals and retains the discarded architectural sketch he discovers in the garden.

  • Linda discovers the retained sketch in Henry's coat and concludes that he appropriated Marian's design; Henry's possession is no longer concealed from her.
  • Marian recovers the drawing and learns that Henry appropriated it.

• Peter proposes another week of motoring before announcing his final choice of a home site.

  • Peter's period of considering sites has ended in a purchase in escrow and arrangements for construction.

• Linda plans to sell surplus furniture and technical medical books independently, seeking the highest possible book prices and arranging separate Saturday appraisals.

  • Linda receives satisfactory furniture and book valuations and arranges furniture collection. She still requires time to inspect the books and recover her father's papers.
  • Linda receives the full furniture appraisal amount and buys art materials; the technical books are listed for sale.
  • Linda continues sorting books for sale to finance equipment, and John learns of the sales and their purpose.
  • Linda completes the book sorting, sells the books, cashes the payment, and pays Peter for the study work; completion of the furniture sales is not established.

• John and Eileen become engaged after her sustained secret courtship wins his romantic attachment.

  • The engagement survives a quarrel and renewed affection, but Eileen delays its announcement and home building, leaving John disappointed.
  • Eileen abandons her commitment to marry John, although these events do not show her informing him.

• Linda decides to recommend yucca as food despite her concern about its extermination and commits to painting her yucca illustration.

• Eileen's flirtation with Henry and Peter provokes John's jealousy and makes him doubt the security of their future marriage if Peter settles nearby.

• Peter develops a prospective arrangement for a house, garage and private access road on the plateau while John helps locate its owner.

  • Peter secures the site, engages contractors to begin Monday and determines the initial construction and supervision arrangements.
  • Peter purchases three acres, securing land for his prospective home.
  • Discussion at the site develops the grounds layout, and Peter adopts Linda's winding road, redirected spring and bridge despite the extra work.
  • Peter's house has progressed through its foundations, framing, roof structure, pipes and wiring.

• Linda asks Katy to keep her cooking experiments secret.

  • Donald brings up his family's interest in magazine recipes for indigenous foods; Linda's conspicuous performance of disinterest introduces strain into her concealment, although no explicit disclosure is recorded.
  • Linda renews the requirement of secrecy while enlisting Katy's help with the summer articles.

• Linda and Donald plan a cautious car outing, with Donald inspecting the engine, a nearby garage checking the car, two rear tires to be bought, and a portable lunch packed.

  • The planned outing takes place, the new tires are fitted, and Linda and Donald reach the canyon and share their packed lunch.

• Linda plans to gather miners' lettuce with Donald before leaving so he can take the plant to his mother and Mary Louise.

• Donald undertakes a trial of abstaining from cigarettes to determine whether his academic work improves.

• Donald commits to surpassing Oka through fair intellectual competition and original achievement, seeking Linda's guidance.

  • Donald follows Linda's advice, sacrifices Sunday recreation for intensive study and prepares notes intended to advance his work; Linda infers success.
  • Linda continues seeking an idea that will help Donald surpass his classmate, and Peter offers possible assistance after learning Donald's identity.
  • Donald's initiative interests his professor, his father supplies resources and support, and Donald recognizes the reputational stakes while accepting Linda's warning against provoking Oka.
  • Donald accepts all available help, acknowledges his inadequate preparation, and meets Peter for advice. His report that Oka has recognized the competition and intensified his work raises the challenge.
  • Donald seeks further help, keeps pace with Oka, and surpasses him on one trigonometry problem, earning public commendation and a double-A mark; sustained superiority remains unachieved.
  • Exceptional academic work makes Donald's victory seem likely, and he renews his commitment to excellence. His injury interrupts attendance, but his professors arrange continued instruction; graduation honours are not yet secured.
  • The official result establishes that Donald surpassed Oka before Oka's elimination; Oka had recognized his defeat.

• Linda proposes advanced reading and coaching to develop Donald's original understanding and plans to search her father's library with him.

  • Linda commits to sustaining Donald's interest and guiding his conduct; recovered books from his father supply new mathematical approaches.
  • Donald extends the effort to obtain books and academic assistance by asking his father.
  • Linda obtains Peter's old books and gives them to Donald, extending the provision of reading material.

• Linda and Donald arrange another Saturday outing, with Donald willing to follow Linda's interests.

  • Linda keeps Saturday available and tells Donald he may arrive early.
  • The planned outing takes place, and they extend the arrangement into regular shared Saturdays, to be confirmed each Friday.
  • Donald begins accompanying Linda on plant-collecting excursions, carrying their arrangement for shared outings into practice.
  • Donald's delay prevents the Laguna excursion, but they complete a shorter seaside outing, and he proposes making the intended trip next Saturday.
  • Linda commits all of next Saturday to Donald, who promises to arrive before dawn.
  • Linda clears time and arranges lunch, confirms the outing despite the warning, and sets out with Donald.

• Linda mistakenly takes Eileen's dress as a gift and wears it; Katy's support for Linda brings Eileen's anger upon Katy.

  • Eileen sends Linda the dress, settling Linda's entitlement to it; the separate dispute over Katy remains unaddressed.

• Linda intends to commission Marian to design her future house.

• Peter plans to build his garage first and live there while supervising construction and protecting his site.

  • Peter reaffirms that he will complete and occupy the garage quickly, using his time there to study the site before building the house.
  • Linda discovers that construction has progressed substantially and that Peter has made arrangements in the finished garage.

• Linda plans to buy practical school clothes when her money arrives and reserve the new suit for better occasions.

• Eileen seeks to dismiss Katy and threatens to enlist John to remove her, while Katy refuses to leave Linda.

• Katy threatens to expose Eileen's treatment of Linda to John if he intervenes against her or Eileen ruins Linda's happiness over the dress.

• Eileen tries to keep Peter under observation through Janie, but Mary's attention to him frustrates her arrangement.

• Eileen denies Donald entry when he calls on Linda, then becomes distressed on learning that he is Mary Whiting's brother.

• Linda postpones repaying Katy's clothing loan until she earns more money, reserving her remaining cash for gasoline.

  • Linda now explicitly plans to repay Katy and has received substantial earnings, though repayment is not recorded.

• Linda invents a male admirer, Philip Sanders, to encourage Marian until a real romantic interest replaces him, and sends his pseudonymous letter through Nicholson and Snow.

  • Marian replies to the invented admirer, and Linda continues the correspondence with a typed reply written as she imagines Peter would write.
  • Linda writes another anonymous letter to Marian and judges it appealing on rereading.
  • The fabricated correspondence comforts Marian and elicits continuing candid replies; Linda discovers its substantial effect and resolves to continue, gathering fresh material from Peter.
  • Marian continues receiving the supposed admirer's letters and takes care over her replies; Linda learns that the correspondence continues.
  • Linda recognizes the possible harm of making the invented admirer resemble Peter and decides to tone down the letters.
  • The invented admirer comforts Marian but becomes an obstacle to a real marriage proposal; Peter now undertakes to continue the correspondence himself.
  • The fabricated correspondence ends after comforting Marian, whose real friendships and hopes have grown.

• Linda conceals her authorship of the letter signed Philip Sanders, whose supposed admiration is fabricated.

  • Linda maintains the assumed admirer's identity through another exchange; Marian's reply does not establish that she knows its true author.
  • The fabricated correspondence continues through another anonymous letter.
  • Marian continues treating the letters as a man's correspondence while Linda privately plans their continuation.
  • Marian treats the letters as evidence of a real acquaintance and tentatively identifies the correspondent, while Linda remains the concealed author.
  • Linda discloses her authorship and use of Peter's personality to Peter, who reads Marian's reply; Marian still believes the correspondent is a real man.
  • Marian identifies Linda's authorship and communicates that recognition to her.

• Peter develops a romantic interest in Linda, which Henry perceives while Peter increasingly includes her ideas in his plans and helps provide her study.

  • Peter contributes a specially inscribed fireplace stone intended to convey friendship and beauty, and Linda receives the completed room with delighted gratitude. Her response does not establish reciprocal romantic interest.
  • Linda seeks and receives emotional refuge with Peter; reciprocal gratitude and his kiss on her palm deepen their intimacy, and she subsequently regains creative fluency.
  • Their shared supper and artistic collaboration deepen their companionship. Peter considers courting Linda but fears she prefers Donald and sees him as grandfatherly; he recognizes her artistic ability and shows heightened concern for her safety.
  • Peter brings birthday gifts, reveals feeling that disturbs Linda, and begins a deeper personal acquaintance with her during their evening together.
  • Peter discloses intimate fears and his heart's secret. Linda performs a symbolic good-woman ceremony, then becomes alarmed by his expression and redirects their encounter to work.
  • Linda's suspicion briefly shakes her trust in Peter, but accepting his innocence brings intense relief and an intimate embrace with what Peter believes is a kiss. Peter chooses to trust her while awaiting an explanation and shows concern for her safety.
  • Peter's trust in Linda strengthens; he seeks her out, undertakes to repair her predicament and vows never to betray her trust.
  • Eugene independently recognizes Peter's love for Linda; Peter commits to directing his own courtship and learns that Linda's affection for Donald is friendship.
  • Eugene recognizes Peter's love for Linda, and Peter makes her preferences central to his grounds while expressing how much her participation pleases him.
  • Peter comes when Linda calls, supports her after the emergency, and takes her home. His apparent approval of Katy's envisioned household and continued companionship with Linda reinforce the prospective relationship.
  • Peter joins Linda apart from the party, fetches a blanket for her and shares it with her.
  • Peter's romantic interest culminates in an explicitly mutual prospective lifelong partnership with Linda.

• Peter adopts a future family home accommodating a wife and six children, with Henry agreeing to enlarge the design.

  • Linda and Peter accept a shared future household including Katy; the earlier proposed number of children is not settled here.

• Peter offers further discussion and possible help toward Donald's academic competition.

  • Linda brings Donald to Peter, who undertakes to discuss his academic difficulty and offer useful advice; the consultation begins.

• Peter and Henry undertake to help improve Linda's workroom, incorporating the alterations into Peter's building arrangements at minimal cost to her.

  • Linda accepts the proposed workroom improvements on the condition that she pays or reciprocates.
  • The promised workroom improvements are completed, including the fireplace, skylight and new window, and Linda discovers them.

• Henry resolves to act quickly to preserve his own romantic chance with Linda after recognizing Peter as a rival.

  • Henry proposes a romantic understanding contingent on improved finances, but Linda prioritizes education and work, secures his agreement to stop romantic talk, and gives him no invitation into the house.

• Linda welcomes a visit from John to discuss her activities.

  • John visits and discusses Linda's plants, finances, workroom and judgment of his conduct toward Marian.

• Linda intends to maintain her academic attention despite her friendships with boys.

  • Linda renews her academic ambition and deliberately commits to concentration after recognizing that the book could interfere with schoolwork.
  • Distress over the correspondence costs Linda a night's sleep and causes her first failure in her lessons.
  • Linda resumes concentrated attention to her lessons.
  • Linda reaffirms her academic commitment, and Peter takes on proofreading to support it.

• Eileen intends to devise a way to limit Linda's popularity while prioritizing her own interests and deciding her future.

  • Eileen chooses a future with the Heitmans and leaves the household, prioritizing escape and anticipated purchases; no further action against Linda's popularity is shown.
  • Eileen explicitly abandons her old manipulative methods after recognizing how Linda's natural behavior wins affection and welcome.

• Linda seeks to make her magazine department successful enough to secure its permanent assignment.

  • Linda plans to ask her editor about reader response, continued employment and the best payment offer.
  • Linda writes and revises A Palate Teaser and illustrates its cactus-fruit salad, producing further material for her magazine work.
  • The initial five-hundred-dollar payment, favorable reception and prospect of continuing payments support Linda's professional success; a permanent assignment is not explicitly established.
  • The editor reports reader approval, pays for three illustrated articles and commits to further articles at the same rate.

• Donald’s father intends to follow his academic progress and help him compete.

  • Donald tells his father about Linda's involvement and requests books and help; his father shares Linda's role with the family.
  • Donald’s father undertakes to investigate suspected interference with his son's academic competition.
  • Linda reports Donald's academic success to his father, and Donald learns that his family's recent happiness reflects their knowledge of his progress.

• Linda intends to investigate her father's royalties after discovering evidence of substantial earnings and learning that the payments go to his bank.

  • Linda moves toward independently establishing her financial position by locating the Consolidated Bank and planning to request the Strong accounts after school; the royalties themselves remain unverified.
  • Linda obtains an examination of her father's estate accounts and discovers substantial surplus income and Eileen's private account, though the events do not separately establish the royalty amounts.
  • The bank establishes that the private-account deposits exactly matched her father's book royalties.

• Linda intends to comfort Marian and compensate for John's desertion.

  • Linda writes Marian a personal letter and continues the fabricated admirer correspondence expressly to entertain her.
  • Linda continues her attempt to encourage Marian through another anonymous letter.
  • Linda learns that her letters are helping Marian recover from John's desertion and commits to sustaining that comfort.
  • Linda receives Marian's long letter and completes her reply, sustaining their correspondence.
  • Linda turns her support for Marian into a plan to offer her a home and prepares a letter.
  • Linda takes possession of evidence and seeks Eugene's intervention to protect Marian's professional interests.
  • Linda's letters have comforted Marian and displaced her attachment to John, but have also led her to reject a real suitor.
  • Marian acknowledges the comfort Linda supplied, responds with greater affection, and reports renewed hope.

• John increasingly resents accommodating Eileen, while her resentment of his attention to Linda and his defense of Linda and Marian expose disagreements within their engagement.

  • John hears Eileen's explanation, sees the sisters' unequal circumstances, recognizes Linda's dress as one Eileen ordered for herself, and commits to supporting Linda's estate instructions despite the engagement.
  • Eileen learns what John saw, accuses Linda of costing her his attachment, and prepares to justify herself. Linda later infers that Eileen has managed the encounter, without direct evidence of its outcome.
  • Eileen's rebuke makes John abandon his proposed fireplace, showing continuing disagreement over their home, although her explanations restore his trust and happiness.
  • Eileen's departure and Linda's account of her conduct leave John visibly disappointed and weary, deepening the engagement crisis without an explicit dissolution.
  • Eileen and John reconcile, and their renewed relationship brings John profound happiness.

• John proposes marriage and a new home so that Linda can receive the Strong income, but Eileen postpones the engagement announcement and building.

  • Eileen promises marriage in October without fixing a day, and John intends to find a site and plan their home.
  • Eileen abandons marriage to John and departs with the Heitmans, obstructing his proposed marriage and new home.

• Donald seeks to reciprocate Linda's generosity and earn and keep her friendship.

  • Donald regrets spoiling Linda's plan, commits to trying to prevent another delay, proposes repeating the excursion, and acknowledges what she has taught him.
  • Donald gives Linda rare flowering plants suited to her botanical interests.
  • Donald reciprocates Linda's friendship with an inscribed birthday book.
  • Linda assures Donald of his place as her best friend and responds personally to his renewed pledge of excellence.

• Donald begins to feel attracted to Linda, seeing her as a beautiful woman as their friendship deepens.

  • Donald explicitly revises his earlier boylike impression of Linda and now considers her exceptionally feminine.
  • Donald deliberately expresses affection, learns that Linda welcomes it, and subsequently understands the personal meaning of her floral message.
  • Donald publicly acknowledges their friendship and gives Linda flowers; seeing him repeatedly reassures and strengthens her.
  • Linda and Donald reach an implicitly romantic understanding, which Donald treats as a claim on her future. His mother challenges that expectation, but his jealousy of Peter persists.

• Linda undertakes to plan the landscaping of Peter's grounds, including routing the spring across the lawn around the boulder.

  • Linda develops a specific planting scheme for the brook, although Peter's claimed visualization and admiration are false assurances rather than evidence that he understands it.
  • Linda tentatively agrees to design the brook and road according to her own preferences.
  • Peter agrees to the bridge and brook alterations, and Linda finds the bridge and access road complete and usable.

• Katy proposes raising money for rugs for Linda's workroom.

• Linda asks Katy to conceal that Jane Meredith is Linda and that the author is young.

  • Linda reveals that she is Jane Meredith to Judge Whiting after securing his promise of secrecy; the disclosure remains confidential.
  • Linda extends the authorship confidence to Worthington and commits to anonymity; he warns that requests for personal details and a photograph may complicate concealment.
  • Linda shares the latest publishing news with Katy while renewing their commitment to secrecy.
  • Linda deliberately widens disclosure of her authorship to Eileen, John and Peter; public anonymity remains unspecified.

• Linda intends to keep her workroom strictly private once her sketches are drying there and instructs Katy to keep its key inaccessible to others.

  • Linda locks her room and carries its key, but later infers that Eileen has entered and prepares to scrutinize her.
  • Having become sufficiently certain of Eileen's trustworthiness, Linda admits Eileen and John to her workroom and reveals her writing.

• Eileen raises the possibility that Linda's alterations have disfigured the house and reduced its value, causing Linda regret without establishing that damage occurred.

• Linda discovers Eileen's concealed smoking supplies and exposes them to John, whose prior knowledge is unspecified.

  • Linda tells Eileen about the unintended disclosure of the concealed box to John and her regret over exposing it.

• Linda decides to handle Eileen directly and tell her openly about John's visit and what he discovered, releasing John from acting on her behalf.

  • Linda directly tells Eileen about John's visit and what she showed him, then informs John that Eileen knows, enabling their open conversation.

• Linda resolves to control her temper and act more maturely, but Eileen's renewed claims of poverty undermine that resolve.

  • Linda deliberately avoids unpleasantness and refrains from further exposing Eileen to John.
  • Linda responds to Eileen's return with understanding and affection while setting practical expectations for their household.

• Linda discovers a concealed locked door and her father's instructions reserving its opening to the bank at the proper time; she replaces the instructions and conceals the door.

  • Linda receives the entrusted key, opens the compartment with John present and reads her father's explanation of the girls' parentage; she later tells Katy.

• Peter resolves to rewrite his political article with imaginative life after Linda recognizes a bridge-and-road conception for it and he destroys the existing draft.

  • Peter has rewritten the article and reads it to Linda with passionate conviction; her accompanying sketches and request to delay its release establish the next stage of their collaboration.

• Linda accepts Worthington's offer to restrict withdrawals from Eileen's private account until the estate settlement, with household cheques continuing and Eileen potentially unaware.

  • The withdrawal restriction is demonstrably in force: Eileen cannot obtain the disputed deposits before settlement and proof of private ownership.
  • Eileen attempts withdrawal while the account remains unsettled; Linda orders its funds pooled with the estate despite John's proposed delay.

• Linda will manage on her present resources until reaching majority, then take John to the bank for settlement whether or not Eileen accompanies them; Eileen refuses to participate.

  • Linda makes the proposed bank settlement concrete by requesting a Thursday appointment with John and Eileen.
  • The bank identifies settlement as due tomorrow, while Eileen leaves seeking to avoid a summons; Linda's intended settlement remains pending.
  • On reaching majority, Linda attends the settlement with John, gains independent control of her money and gives instructions concerning the remaining private account.

• Eileen seeks a way to justify herself to John after learning what Linda exposed; Linda later infers from their prolonged visit and Eileen's laughter that she has managed the confrontation.

  • John accepts Eileen's explanations about Linda's clothing and the cigarettes, receives the cigarette box as an early birthday gift, and regains trust in her.

• Marian forms a friendship with Dana Meade.

  • Marian and Dana share a social encounter and a decision to spare Eileen embarrassment, while their friendship deepens.

• Marian seeks to recover confidence in driving; she successfully drives again but suffers severe physical distress.

  • Marian continues confronting driving through repeated outings with Eugene on challenging roads; independent driving or full recovery is not established.

• Marian and Eugene develop a sympathetic friendship through shared suffering; Eugene undertakes to help restore her happiness and confidence.

  • Eugene informs Marian of the competition result and repeatedly takes her driving on challenging roads.
  • Eugene appears to regain interest in life and gives Marian flowers formerly intended for his departed love's shrine.
  • Eugene is identified as Marian's rejected suitor. Katy's encouragement and his alliance with Peter renew his determination, but Marian has not reversed her refusal.
  • Eugene renews his attentions, their friendship deepens, and Marian becomes hopeful about approaching happiness.
  • Marian's happiness increases, and her attachment to Eugene and his family leads her to accept an early marriage.

• Linda undertakes to illustrate Peter's rewritten article, develops two sketches and commits to finishing them in watercolour, asking him to withhold the article until they are ready.

  • Linda commits to completing the two sketches that night; Peter's paintings are drying and are restored to the wall after the visitors leave.
  • Peter sends another article with an implied request for opening and closing illustrations, extending their collaboration and Linda's hope of paid illustration work.
  • Linda renews her intention to develop her idea concerning Peter's article; completion of the illustrations is not shown.

• Linda considers Mary Louise as a prospective wife for Peter.

  • Linda commits to befriending Mary and arranging opportunities for her and Peter to become acquainted.
  • Linda renews her matchmaking intention and briefly mistakes Katy for Peter's choice, but Peter's declaration and their accepted partnership supersede the plan to find him another wife.

• Linda promises to respect her friends' private selves rather than dissect or test them.

• Linda makes continued friendship with Henry conditional on ending romantic talk and possessive familiarity; Henry agrees to keep their conversation impersonal.

  • Henry continues his bug-catcher teasing through a gift of live creatures; Linda is intensely amused but refuses further teasing.
  • Henry's excessive joke has offended Linda, and she tells Peter that Henry arouses her instinctive distrust.

• Henry seeks success in the Nicholson and Snow architectural contest, having submitted a house design about which he is enthusiastic.

  • Henry wins the Nicholson and Snow architectural competition.

• Henry intends to build his submitted house design for Peter and an improved version for Linda.

• Linda intends to investigate the gardener's illness, his replacement, and the car's multiple failures.

  • Linda brings her suspicions about the gardeners and car failures to Judge Whiting, requests specific inquiries and obtains his promise to investigate.
  • Linda learns of increasingly frequent requests for household work and garage access, and establishes that Katy has not admitted the visitors to the garage.

• Donald suspects Oka is concealing an adult age while competing as a schoolboy.

  • Donald suspects that Oka's newly black hair and possible cosmetics conceal his age; Linda learns his belief that Oka is thirty or older and may already have been educated abroad. These remain suspicions.

• Donald's mother and Louise ask him to bring Linda home.

  • Linda visits Donald at home and becomes closely attached to his family.

• Linda proposes visiting the African village with Donald to watch movie activity.

• Linda fears that Donald's academic rivalry with Oka exposes him to retaliation; she suspects the gardener's replacement and car failures were sabotage, but neither Oka's involvement nor sabotage is established.

  • Judge Whiting reports that investigation supports Linda's fear and advises precautions; the events do not identify the perpetrator or establish the specific mechanism.
  • Reports of repeated attempts to gain access to the car heighten Linda's concerns and prompt precautions, but establish neither sabotage nor Oka's involvement.
  • Donald suffers a grave injury from a boulder that evidence suggests was deliberately loosened. Oka's presence above the site strengthens Linda's suspicions, but these events do not establish his responsibility for every earlier suspected act of sabotage.
  • Oka's recognition of academic defeat and intention to remove Donald establish a retaliatory motive, without independently establishing the earlier suspected sabotage.

• Linda seeks protection for Donald without distracting him from his studies, and Judge Whiting promises to investigate the gardeners, the car repairs and her concerns about Oka.

  • The investigation produces a warning, and Linda undertakes precautions while retaining the outing with the Judge's assessment that travel may be safer.
  • Linda extends her protective measures by instructing Katy to secure the garage, watch visitors and call police about unexplained prowling.
  • Linda activates the Judge's protective arrangements, and his representatives investigate the cliff and suspected attack. Evidence supports prior preparation of the stone, while removal of Oka's remains limits what investigators recover.

• Judge Whiting proposes visiting Linda's home with his wife, and Linda agrees to receive them.

• Judge Whiting comes to trust and approve of Linda as Donald's companion and receives her authorship disclosure in confidence.

  • The Judge entrusts Linda with the warning and receives her assurance of vigilance; Donald also reports his father's admiration.
  • The emergency deepens the Judge's trust and gratitude toward Linda, culminating in devoted friendship between her and the Whiting family.

• Linda prioritizes planting the rare wild pansies Donald has brought her.

• Henry wins the architectural competition with plans reported to resemble Marian's, while Marian receives no prize; Linda is angered and perplexed, and Eileen recognizes the resemblance as a strange coincidence.

  • The recovered sketch in Henry's coat gives Linda concrete grounds for attributing the resemblance to theft. Peter's recollection supplies a possible opportunity, and Linda seeks Eugene's intervention; adjudication and redress remain pending.
  • Marian recognizes her reversed design in Peter's house and connects it with Henry's prize entry. Eugene gathers evidence about the missing drawing, the unscreened window and Henry's movements.
  • The recovered drawing establishes Henry's appropriation and contest violation; the prize money is withheld, but corrective action remains pending.

• Marian resolves to resume her architectural work and improve her best efforts after her competition defeat.

• Linda intends to develop further recipes and continue her successful series, with a possible book contract conditional on the editor's terms.

  • The editor promises continued payment and a book upon completion of the series; Linda commits to summer production and creates another article and illustration.
  • The editor offers to publish her book, and Linda begins planning its realization; acceptance and terms are not recorded.
  • Linda develops a native-food article, plans summer collection and preparation for the book, and commits to its next illustration.
  • Linda continues practical wild-food preparation, gathering varied ingredients and teaching their preparation to Katy and Donald. No new publication or book agreement is established.
  • Eileen's return disrupts the existing arrangements for Linda's book work, requiring her to change the intended home plan.
  • A book contract is established, Linda submits the final chapter and illustration, proofs and a cover arrive, and Peter undertakes proofreading; publication remains pending.

• Worthington becomes Linda's confidential financial ally, expressing pride in her authorship and undertaking to handle her present and future Jane Meredith cheques.

• Eileen accepts James Heitman's offer to take her away and consents to adoption; he collects her, but the adoption remains prospective.

  • Eileen has left for her mother's wealthy relatives in San Francisco, abandoning her possessions; adoption is still not confirmed.
  • Eileen returns home after an unhappy experience with her relatives and proposes periodic visits instead of continuing to live with them; adoption is not established.

• Eileen's hope of relief and lavish spending with the Heitmans is troubled by her memories of their household and Caroline's disparagement and insistence on directing their movements.

  • Marian observes profound disappointment in Eileen's new circumstances and avoids a visit that might embarrass her.
  • The anticipated humiliation becomes an experienced reality, and Eileen leaves her relatives' household.

• Eileen seeks to conceal her departure from the household until she is gone and to avoid being summoned from the bank.

  • Eileen gets away before Linda and John learn of her departure; they subsequently infer its destination and permanence.

• Linda directs Katy to secure Eileen's room and preserve her belongings pending instructions.

  • Linda directs that Eileen's belongings be stored for at least a year while her suite is prepared for Marian.
  • Linda authorizes Eileen's use of her stored furnishings and arranges to return her trunk and keys.

• Linda promises to tell Katy important secrets before bedtime.

  • Linda tells Katy about the royalties, settlement, proof concerning Eileen and publishing success.

• Linda decides to take down the wasp picture after Peter recognizes Eileen in it.

  • Linda removes the wasp picture from display, softens it and locks it away.

• Linda plans to invite Marian to live with her; Katy agrees to welcome and care for Marian and plans a welcoming letter of her own.

  • Marian accepts the offer of a home and sends the documents needed to retrieve her furniture; her arrival remains pending.
  • Marian returns to San Francisco without seeing Linda, leaving the proposed shared home unrealized.
  • Marian's room is prepared, the invitation is renewed, and Marian promises an imminent visit; permanent residence is not yet established.
  • Linda prepares accommodation and invites Marian for the summer, but Marian's imminent marriage and intended residence in San Francisco alter the prospect of her living with Linda.
  • Marian's marriage and move lead Linda to reconcile herself to their benefits rather than obtain Marian as a resident companion.

• Linda chooses the guest room for herself and directs the redecoration of her present room.

  • Fresh furnishings are selected for the renovated house and bedroom, and Linda's former furniture is disposed of.
  • Linda's guest room is furnished for her use, Marian's things occupy Eileen's former suite, and Eileen receives Linda's old room.

• Linda intends to reopen the estate settlement after obtaining proof that Eileen is not her sister, while honoring any valid provision for Eileen.

  • Linda renews her intention to settle the finances using her father's letter.

• Linda plans to use her improved finances to improve the house and employ help for Katy.

  • House furnishing proceeds, and Linda plans kitchen improvements and a reward for Katy.

• Donald wants a Bear-cat as a graduation present, but Linda challenges its practicality for college.

• Marian plans to pay for delivery of her stored furniture and visit after Linda orders it.

  • Marian reaches Lilac Valley but leaves without visiting Linda; these events establish no furniture delivery.
  • Linda directs that Marian's belongings be sent, and Marian confirms that she will visit soon.

• Marian resolves to refuse a renewed relationship with John and require explicit declarations from any future suitor.

• Marian begins to identify her anonymous correspondent from personal references, while Linda fears her Peter-inflected letters could jeopardize Marian's prospects with Eugene.

  • Linda's feared interference with Marian's romantic prospects becomes concrete: Marian refuses a proposal because she loves the invented correspondent. The suitor is not identified in these events.
  • Marian takes the letters and familiar typewriter in Peter's garage as proof that he is her correspondent, then interprets his house as a romantic gift.
  • Marian recognizes Linda's authorship, ends the correspondence, and responds affectionately while her real friendships deepen.

• Linda seeks to encourage Peter's interest in Marian through her landscaping, hints to Katy and more frequent visits to Peter.

  • Linda reveals her matchmaking to Peter; he agrees to take over the letters and describes Marian as his preferred alternative to his dream woman, renewing Linda's hopes without establishing a mutual romance.
  • Eugene doubts Linda's proposed Peter–Marian match, confirms Peter's love for Linda and joins Peter in rejecting imposed matchmaking.
  • Marian commits to marrying Eugene and living in San Francisco, and Peter welcomes the news, ending the prospective match with Peter.

• Linda gains friendship, social inclusion and intellectual respect among schoolmates who previously ignored her.

• Linda intends to become the intellectual leader of her class.

  • Linda renews her determination to win Senior honours and gains Peter's practical help in protecting study time.

• Linda resolves to wear her braids up permanently as a declaration of womanhood.

• Linda conceals her discovery of Marian's sketch and her conclusion that Henry stole the design, withholding the explanation from Peter to preserve his pleasure in his house.

  • Linda acknowledges taking and disposing of Henry's paper but withholds its contents and the explanation of her distress from Peter.
  • Linda shares the discovery and its circumstances with Eugene while continuing to seek protection for Peter from the suspected wrongdoing.
  • Linda supplies Eugene with the evidence while securing his acceptance of Peter's innocence and the need to protect him from scandal.

• Peter resolves to investigate Henry's coat and papers to understand Linda's unexplained distress.

  • Peter abandons the pocket search and learns that Linda took the disturbing paper and considers its disposition settled; he does not discover what it contained.

• Linda writes to Eugene Snow to expose the apparent theft of Marian's design, intending to send the recovered sketch and secure his intervention on Marian's behalf.

  • Eugene investigates in person, receives Linda's account and supporting evidence, and commits to righting the wrong.
  • Linda's letter and enclosure reach Eugene, prompt investigation and withheld payment, and secure a concrete proposal for intervention.

• Peter undertakes to study the letters and continue the correspondence himself through Linda's existing arrangements, promising to preserve her relationships with Marian and Donald.

  • Peter never opens the packet or takes up the correspondence, and returns the letters after the need for continuation passes.

• Linda and Peter share knowledge of the fabricated correspondence and his proposed continuation; Linda decides to withhold it from Donald to protect Marian's privacy.

  • Marian infers Linda's fabrication and Peter's intended involvement; Donald's knowledge remains unspecified.

• Marian loves the invented correspondent and refuses a real suitor's marriage proposal because of him; Linda fears that her deception will cost her Marian's, Peter's and Donald's affection.

  • The rejected suitor is identified as Eugene, while Marian attaches her love for the invented correspondent specifically to Peter.
  • Marian recognizes the invention and ends her participation without rejecting Linda; Peter returns the unused packet.

• Marian mistakenly believes Peter wrote the anonymous letters and is building her design as a loving surprise for her.

  • Information about the exchanged typewriters and Peter's love for Linda leads Marian to recognize Linda as the letters' author.

• Marian resolves to await the correspondent's disclosure and returns to San Francisco without visiting her friends to preserve Peter's supposed surprise.

  • Marian abandons the correspondence and promises to visit Linda rather than continue waiting for the imagined disclosure.

• Marian seeks to establish Peter's involvement in the appropriation of her design and determine how the wrong can be righted.

  • Marian learns that Henry appropriated her design, hears that Peter is innocent, and accepts Eugene's proposed remedy.

• Eugene undertakes to right the appropriation of Marian's design while keeping Marian and Linda out of legal proceedings.

  • Eugene withholds the prize money, restores Marian's drawing, and obtains her agreement to seek board approval for reopening the contest and privately correcting Henry.

• Katy seeks to protect Linda's prospective relationship with Peter and encourages Eugene to marry Marian.

  • Katy's intervention helps Eugene recognize Peter's attachment to Linda, and Peter expects Eugene to handle the San Francisco complications.
  • Katy explicitly anticipates Linda's marriage to Peter and a shared household, and the Judge recognizes Peter's approval.
  • Marian agrees to the marriage with Eugene that Katy encouraged.

• Peter and Eugene form an alliance to pursue their own chosen partners despite Linda's matchmaking.

  • Eugene returns encouraged by the visit, while Peter trusts him to resolve complications without Peter continuing the letters.
  • Eugene marries Marian, and Peter secures a mutually accepted future with Linda, fulfilling their pursuit of their chosen partners.

• Marian's recognition of Linda's protective deception deepens her affection for Linda rather than alienating her.

• Peter seeks building economies to fund the brook and road Linda prefers and invites her to personalize his grounds.

  • The desired alterations receive Peter's agreement, and the bridge and road are completed; the brook's completion is not established.

• Linda promises to write Donald every Saturday night during college and to celebrate his first vacation with him.

• Linda seeks to free Donald from the fallen boulder and obtain urgent medical care; he is rescued and taken to hospital, but his foot injury remains.

  • Donald's cast is removed, and Linda learns that sustained care can restore his athletics and dancing, relieving her anxiety although recovery remains incomplete.

• Katy confronts Oka on the cliff and cuts his supporting branch; his death is subsequently established, although his confederates remove his remains.

• Linda falsely claims responsibility for pushing Oka off the ledge, apparently seeking to shield Katy; Katy contradicts her and claims responsibility.

• Katy intends to keep house and care for the children when Linda and Peter establish a home together.

  • Linda explicitly asks to bring Katy into her future home with Peter, their partnership is accepted, and Peter plans to tell Katy.

• Donald's professors undertake to hear his recitations at home until he can return to school.

• Donald regards Linda as his girl and resents Peter's closeness to her; despite his mother's intervention, he intends to confront Peter after recovering and demand his withdrawal.

  • Donald receives Linda's conditional encouragement and becomes willing to wait patiently, while her accepted partnership with Peter changes the rivalry without recording a direct settlement with Donald.

• Judge Whiting promises to pursue the Oka matter for California's benefit without involving Linda and Katy; both women nevertheless offer to testify if needed.

• Linda welcomes Eileen home as her sister, and their renewed affection develops through practical work, shared interests and social outings.

  • Linda commits to helping Eileen, trusts her with her work, and receives wholehearted appreciation and a practical plan to give her quiet.

• Eileen intends to visit her wealthy relatives for a few days each month while receiving their allowance.

• Linda undertakes to help with Eileen's trousseau while requiring household work and prompt correction of objectionable behavior, with Katy's participation.

  • Linda actively helps with the marriage preparations, and Eileen and John decide to marry immediately.

• Linda will observe Eileen's sincerity before deciding whether to reveal her Jane Meredith identity to Eileen and John.

  • Linda judges Eileen sufficiently trustworthy, reveals her writing to both Eileen and John, and receives warmer appreciation than she expected.

• Eileen resolves to replace manipulative social methods with honesty, natural behavior and wholesome enjoyment.

  • Eileen responds generously to Linda's achievement and plans her marriage and travel with Linda's working needs in mind.

• The Whitings welcome Eileen into their circle, and Mary offers practical instruction and a further visit.

• Marian agrees to marry Eugene soon after forming a strong attachment to his daughter; they plan to live in San Francisco.

  • Marian and Eugene marry, and Linda and Peter visit Marian's San Francisco home before departing.

• Peter offers to become Linda's fieldwork companion after her Saturday field excursions with Donald cease.

• Eileen and John plan to marry immediately and travel abroad at length to give Linda quiet for her work, arranging their home afterward.

• Peter undertakes Linda's proofreading so she can finish her book while pursuing Senior honours, and receives her materials.

Places

Los Angeles, The desert, Lilac Valley, California, Multiflores Canyon, The canyon, San Francisco, New York, Hawthorne House, High School, Post office, Strong residence, Automobile Club, San Fernando Road, Sunland, Riverside, The Mode, Colorado, Pasadena, Tulare Lake region, Laguna, Garage halfway downtown, North end of the beach drive, Santa Monica Bay, Japan, Santa Monica, School building, The biggest store in the city, Laguna shore, Death Valley, The Argentine, Virginia