Paul graduates from boarding school then attends Princeton and law school. During World War I Paul enlists with the marines; he is killed in battle outside of Paris. At this time Katy and Austin are teenagers and are falling in love.

After the night when Nell gave birth and her brother was taken away, she disappears. No one ever knows where she went, but Katy always looks for her and the name Evangeline Emerson in the movies. A family friend thinks they saw someone who looks like Nell in Baltimore, working in a bar—a red-headed woman who goes by Nellie. They decide it is best for Peggy not to know, so no one tells her about the sighting.

Peggy remains with the Thatchers until Mary begins school, and then Peggy goes home and marries her admirer, Floyd Lehman. Katy gives them a set of gold-rimmed dishes like the ones Peggy admired at the Thatcher’s home for their wedding gift. Peggy and Floyd live on the Stoltz farm, taking over and renovating the house. They have three daughters, and Jacob’s dog lives with them too.