To her surprise, Henry offers to marry her. She moves to small-town *Hickory, North Carolina*.
*Hickory - The Loveless Marriage:*
Tess quickly realizes something is very wrong.
Henry is secretive, stays out all night, hides money, shows her zero affection, no interest in making love, and forbids her to work as a nurse. His mother *Ruth* and his sister *Lucy* treat her coldly as an outsider.
The town loves Henry and sees Tess as suspicious. It gets worse: One day Tess drives her sister-in-law Lucy on an errand, with a detour to deliver a mysterious envelope. The drive ends in a *terrible car accident where Lucy dies*, and the whole town blames Tess.
Tess feels everyone is talking about her, watching her. She asks: _What does everyone in Hickory know about Henry that I don't?_
The one person who seems kind to her is a local *medium / spiritualist* who gives her readings and hope - but he seems to know more than he says.
