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With three days left before her wedding to Commander Judd, Agnes spirals into despair, imagining violent escapes she knows she cannot commit. Aunt Lydia visits unexpectedly, revealing that Becka is safe at Ardua Hall and suggesting that Agnes might also have a “calling” to become an Aunt—if Agnes initiates contact with Aunt Estée.

Determined to act covertly, Agnes flatters Paula and arranges a visit to Shunammite’s house under the pretext of dress alterations with Aunt Lorna. After performing polite niceties to avoid suspicion, Agnes asks the household Guardian to stop by her old school, hinting at Judd’s power and promising a reward to secure his cooperation.

At the school, Agnes breaks down before Aunt Estée, declares she will kill herself rather than marry Judd, and then asserts a calling to higher service. Aunt Estée, compassionate yet methodical, prays for guidance and decides to intervene, acknowledging the danger Paula poses and the likelihood of coercive confinement or drugs.

Aunt Estée dismisses Agnes’s Guardian, summons her own car, and promises to take Agnes to a safe place, then speak with Paula and Aunt Lydia to resolve the matter. As they leave, Estée urges faith and calm, signaling a decisive shift from forced marriage toward the possibility of Aunt training under Ardua Hall’s protection.