Back home, Eliza becomes an official part of the family.They all move down the street, Matilda's heart happy over the thought of Nathaniel sending her even more flowers. Something crashes inside the house and the flowers stop falling.Peale's house – the house where Nathaniel Benson is apprenticed! Could it be? Is it he? Matilda realizes that it's the painter Mr. Nell stoops to pick up a flower, and Matilda notices daisies falling on the sidewalk from a second-story window.Unfortunately, her mother found out that she eloped with "Loueey!" her French tutor (23.62). On the way home, Eliza tells Matilda gossip about the Ogilvie family: the daughter Colette did indeed come down with fever, but she recovered.Matilda, with Eliza's approval, decides to keep Nell with her.The orphan house has become, in her words, "the house of last resort" (23.44). The woman tells Matilda that the orphan house is better than the street, but asks if there's maybe someone who could keep Nell for the time being.The woman who answers the door is completely swamped with children. The next day, Matilda and Eliza take Nell to the orphan house.Though she hates the idea, Matilda realizes that Mother Smith is right. Before she leaves in the evening, Mother Smith warns Matilda not to start loving Nell.Matilda thinks Mother Smith would get along with Lucille pretty darn well. The tough old woman makes Matilda rewash the dishes and beat the rugs like crazy. While Eliza goes out to care for the sick, Mother Smith comes to care for the children.Eliza suggests she wash the bedding (and the twins' sheets too), which Matilda does in the courtyard while the children watch. Matilda wakes the next morning to find that Nell has wet the bed.
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