CHAPTER 18 "Legally Mad"

From the start, Harriet had watched Calvin and Elizabeth through her curtains and found their compatibility "almost supernatural." Harriet's marriage is unhappy because Mr. Sloane is dull, ignorant, insensitive, vulgar, and bigoted. He was ugly inside and out, so Harriet thought he was ugly.

Elizabeth wonders how Madeline got her name as she is overwhelmed by her newborn. Elizabeth mistook the nurse's request for the baby's name for a question about how she felt after a long delivery. Elizabeth wrote "Mad" on the birth certificate.

Six-Thirty suggests the name "Madeline" after seeing Elizabeth's copy of Remembrance of Things, which mentions a Madeleine. Elizabeth cannot legally change Madeline's name without a marriage certificate, so she remains "legally Mad".

After her first meeting with Harriet, Elizabeth calls her dozens of times. Four days later, Harriet, who has been watching Elizabeth through binoculars, comes over.