Esther and Lucy steal Timperley's horse and cart and reach the Liverpool work-house, only to find that Catherine was not returned. They suspect that Timperley killed her but Timperley follows and brings Lucy back to the mill. Esther eludes him and tries in vain to find her birth certificate but eventually she too is captured and, back at Quarry Bank, her hair is shaved and she is locked in a cell but rescued by Hannah, who accuses Robert of brutality. Timperley's callous, over-weight wife drops dead whilst climbing the stairs to the cell and the apprentices roar with laughter at the undertakers' clumsy attempt to remove her body. Robert discovers that Daniel is pro-Union but retains him as he needs his skill. After Daniel has completed Tommy's artificial hand he is given permission by Hannah to date Susannah, taking her to a meeting addressed by John Docherty in pursuit of a shorter working day, which now seems likely. Aware of her pregnancy Daniel asks Susannah to marry him and she accepts. However Robert Greg will only allow it if Daniel signs a paper swearing that he will not join a union - which he does.
—don @ minifie-1