Despite Miss Beadle's continued kindness and effective teaching, the school board calls an emergency meeting because her deteriorating classroom management hits an all-time low. It is agreed that a male teacher will be hired in her place, but the mean-spirited Mr. Applewood immediately clashes with Laura, blaming her unfairly for several incidents in his classroom.

When Charles agrees to do some handy work for Widow Thurman, he forfeits any monetary compensation and works instead for Thurman's old china set – a gift that he knows Caroline would love. This does require some sneakiness on Charles' part, and as he spends increasing amounts of time at the Widow Thurman's house, Caroline struggles to maintain her trust in her husband.