"I've spoken to the village authorities about it.

But it seems the law can't interfere; unless brutal cruelty can be proved or unless the parents are unfit to bring up the child." "Brutal cruelty ?" echoed the Mistress.

"What could be more brutal than the way he beats her?
Why, last week there was a bruise on her arm as big--" "What can we prove?
He has a legal right to punish her.

If we got them up in court, he'd frighten her into swearing she hurt her arm on a fence picket and that he never harms her.

No, there's no sort of cure for the rotten state of affairs." But the Master was mistaken.