Though he displays a shallow level of concern for the sisters, Charles also hopes to get the money inside the house. Charles also comes back briefly, but even Constance won’t let him in, laughing at his pleas for them to open the door along with Merricat. Sometimes, Merricat hears people outside going by and gossiping about the house and the sisters, saying that they kill and eat little children. Merricat further limits her movements, deciding the creek is too far away from Constance, while Constance only goes as far as the vegetable garden. People continue to bring them food, always silently in the evening, trying to redeem themselves for destroying the house and leaving notes of apology. On another occasion, a man comes to drop off a dinner his wife has prepared for the sisters, but again they don’t open the door. Merricat says that Helen Clarke came to the door twice more, but both times the sisters refused to answer. Merricat buries Uncle Julian’s gold pencil by the water, and Jonas the cat goes into his room, which he hadn’t before, but Merricat never does.
Instead, Merricat wraps the tablecloth around herself, letting Constance cut a hole for her head in it. Since Uncle Julian’s clothes are the only ones that survived the fire, Constance says they’ll have to wear them, but Merricat insists she can’t touch his things, even though Constance says she’s allowed to.
They decide to preserve Uncle Julian’s papers, as they think he would have wanted them to. Later in the day, the sisters gather food from the garden-since they can see anyone approaching, they feel safe enough to go outside. Merricat tells Constance that they’re on the moon, though it’s not quite as she imagined it, but Constance agrees that it’s a very happy place. Local children come to play in the yard, but the sisters have barricaded the sides of the house to secure it from others. Every morning, Merricat makes sure that the door is locked. The final chapter of the novel is dedicated to describing this new pattern as Merricat recounts a few notable instances that occur over a longer time span. Merricat and Constance develop a new routine to their life and consider themselves happy.
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