TEXT: [PREVIOUSLY_ON] Anne: Cotton! Aah! Mary: John was the only man I ever loved. And the saddest part is, he died not knowing it. Cotton: But you're dead. [Grunts] Hathorne: You cannot hide behind your husband anymore, Mary Sibley. George: What do you want from me? Mary: Silence your bitter enemy, Hathorne. Wainwright: I'll try and be gentle. Mary: Don't bother. [Gasps] Von Marburg: We will meet again, little owl. Until then, tell no one that we have met. Mary: [Muffled scream] Von Marburg: Their time for knowing me is not yet. Mary: I shall use the young Anne Hale to make a water charm to warn me if it draws near. Von Marburg: [Chuckles] Sebastian: I have been feeling something nearly new. Von Marburg: What is it, my love? Sebastian: Excitement. Von Marburg: Mmm. What wind fills your jaded sails? Sebastian: Mary Sibley. You have been most selfish and cruel. Days ago, your hag kissed her, and you tasted her very essence. Von Marburg: Well, I have told you everything. Sebastian: Told me, yes. But I want to taste her. You let me taste Anne Hale. Why not her? Von Marburg: I'm still swirling it myself for insight. Sebastian: These are simple folk. What could possibly elude you? Von Marburg: We're not all as obvious as you, my dear son. Unlike men, women keep their most sensitive parts hidden within. And our beautiful Mary Sibley... now, she has more and deeper secrets than most. Sebastian: Such as? Von Marburg: It's clear that she has launched the grand rite. But how can she hope to complete the consecration without a sacrificial lamb? Sebastian: Perhaps you give her too much credit. Perhaps she is merely ignorant of what a true consecration demands. Von Marburg: I doubt it. She's hardly what I'd call a wise woman, but she's no fool
SUMMARY:
Following Mary's public chastening, the recently minted Magistrate Hathorne steps up his bid to wrest power over the citizenry of Salem from her, forcing Mary to once again compel her bewitched husband to take action. When Hathorne threatens against Anne Hale-giving her the choice of marriage to him or be accused of witchcraft-it prompts the young Witch to seek Mary's council. She receives sound advice to either marry Hathorne or Cotton. But it comes at a fearful and unappealing cost. Mercy Lewis' grisly preparations to enact her revenge reach new heights, drawing Dollie and her Reverend Lewis closer in the process, and forcing the hand of one of her increasingly tenuous allies. Meanwhile, as John Alden continues to pursue his righteous task, his search for answers yields valuable results, and Mary takes the fight directly to her newest foes, Countess Marburg and her son, Sebastian, with surprising results.