John Bidlake’s relationship with his third wife, Janet Bidlake, is an unspoken, indefinite separation. Janet—who married John for the artist she believed him to be, only to become disillusioned by the reality of her husband—has long since retreated into a private world of art and literature. Her parenting style was unconventional; she exposed her children, Elinor and Walter, to unexpurgated literary and philosophical classics from a very young age. This education gave Elinor a deep theoretical knowledge of adult matters and a characteristic cynicism toward idealism.

Now suffering from a terminal illness, John has returned to Janet’s home at Gattenden. He is dejected, full of self-pity, and refuses to be roused from his misery. The household servants grumble about the extra work but also feel a secret, gloating pity for the old man. His impending death breaks their daily monotony and gives them a new sense of importance.

Philip Quarles visits Molly d’Exergillod, a woman who believes all life experiences are merely raw material for clever conversation. When Philip attempts to kiss her, she rebuffs him, calling his physical advance “savage” (326) and preferring a platonic, intellectual discussion. Annoyed, Philip leaves, recognizing in Molly a disturbing caricature of his own emotional detachment.

The encounter makes him realize he must speak with his wife, Elinor, but when he tries, she is cold and distant. In private, Elinor reflects on her deep frustration with Philip’s remote, impersonal affection. She has decided to have an affair with Everard Webley, partly to punish Philip and partly as a willed effort to find her own happiness. She recalls that when Webley first tried to kiss her, she was seized with physical revulsion. Her decision to accept him is a conscious rebellion against her own body and feelings, a commitment she has sealed by promising him they can be together, just “not yet” (331).

Everard Webley, on his white horse Bucephalus, addresses a rally of 1,000 uniformed British Freemen in Hyde Park. During the speech, Illidge shouts a protest and is beaten by several Freemen before police escort him away. Later, Maurice Spandrell meets the bruised Illidge and mockingly goads him for his powerlessness, challenging his courage to take more “direct action” against Webley.

Elinor, who attended the rally, was thrilled and emotionally moved by Webley’s commanding presence. Philip was also there but, as he records in his notebook, he intellectually resisted the spectacle by analyzing Webley’s manipulative techniques. He also sketches out an idea for a novel about a detached intellectual unable to connect with his emotional wife—a clear self-portrait.

The next day, Webley drives Elinor to the country. Emboldened by his talk of power, she allows him to kiss her without her previous physical aversion. In a parallel scene, Spandrell takes an aging sex worker named Connie to the same woods. Disgusted by what he sees as nature’s complacency, he furiously destroys a patch of foxglove flowers with his walking stick.

Rachel Quarles befriends Marjorie Carling, offering her spiritual support. Influenced by Rachel, Marjorie finds a new Christian faith and a sense of peace, concluding that happiness is a “by-product” (355) of seeking salvation. Meanwhile, at Gattenden, John Bidlake’s misery deepens, and he is often cruel to his grandson, little Phil, whose health appears to be declining.

Walter Bidlake receives a letter from Lucy Tantamount canceling their planned trip to Spain. She explains that she has changed her mind because she met a handsome Italian stranger in Paris and had a sordid, violent sexual encounter with him in a cheap hotel. While Walter is reeling from this news, Marjorie returns from a doctor’s visit and enters a deep, meditative trance, feeling a mystical union with an “infinite and eternal nothing” (355). When a devastated Walter arrives at their cottage, Marjorie is aware of his pain but resents his presence for disturbing her spiritual calm. She ignores him, and the chapter ends with Walter lying alone on his bed while Marjorie sinks back into her trance.

Gladys arrives unannounced at Sidney Quarles’s home. She furiously confronts Sidney, calling him a cheap, lecherous, and hypocritical old man. After detailing his stinginess and false airs, she announces that she is pregnant with his child.

Sidney’s wife, Rachel Quarles, enters from the garden during the tirade. Gladys directs her anger at Rachel before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. Rachel attempts to console her, but Gladys savagely rejects the sympathy, accusing Rachel of trying to “talk me quiet” (361). Vowing that they will hear from her again, Gladys storms out. During the confrontation, Sidney slips out of the room and later has the maid announce that he is too ill to come down for lunch.