The Night Gardener

The next day, Molly and Kip go to the market in town, and Kip shows her the key that the Night Man left behind. Molly recognizes it as a match for the tree room door and throws it away. She begs Kip to promise that he will get rid of anything else the man gives him. Suddenly, Hester Kettle arrives and states that “to demand promises is to invite disappointment” (210).

The merchants at the market have been charging Molly more for food since she works for the Windsors, and Hester helps Molly and Kip to haggle them down to fair prices in exchange for a story about the Windsor house. Molly says there’s nothing to tell, just chores and tiredness, and Hester asks what kind of chore made Molly’s hair turn from red to black. Molly clams up, and Hester starts to leave, warning Kip to be careful of chores “lest [he] wind up like [his] sister” (215). Kip tells Hester about the Night Man and the tree, and Hester says she knows a story about that.