At lunch on Sunday afternoon, Leo dwells on two of Trimingham’s ideas: that fault never lies with a woman, and that one may be compelled to kill someone one does not personally dislike. When the meal ends, Marcus tells Leo he must spend the afternoon with Nannie Robson, the family’s elderly former nanny, and cautions him not to reveal Marian’s engagement.

Left alone, Leo wanders toward the rubbish-heap, imagining Marian’s charitable visit as proof of her noble character. His reverie ends when Marian appears near the game larder and hands him a letter for the farm. The revelation that she is still corresponding with Ted despite the engagement shocks Leo; he immediately thinks of the fifth Viscount’s story and of murder. He refuses to carry the letter, citing concern for Trimingham. Marian erupts, insisting the correspondence is a private business matter, berating Leo for ingratitude, then shifting to cold contempt—offering to pay him, but calling him a “little Shylock” (197). Leo snatches the letter and runs.

Running away, he gradually concludes that every kindness Marian showed him—the green suit, the extended invitation, even sending Marcus away that afternoon—was calculated to keep him available as a messenger. He cries at the sluice before pressing on, redirecting his bitterness entirely at Ted.

At Black Farm, Leo enters the kitchen to find Ted bare-chested, sitting at the table with a gun between his knees and its muzzle at chin height, apparently inspecting the barrel. Ted sets the gun aside, notices Leo has been crying, and attempts various distractions. He takes Leo outside and shoots a rook with sudden efficiency; the loud bang jolts Leo out of his grief. Back inside, Ted shows the gun to Leo, who handles it and eventually points it at Ted before being sharply corrected never to aim a gun at anyone. Leo then oils Ted’s cricket bat, finding the task calming.

When Ted asks for the letter, Leo hands it over. Rather than accepting Ted’s offer of a reward, Leo invokes Ted’s earlier promise to explain spooning. Ted stalls, claiming it is a father’s job to explain; Leo replies that his father is dead. Ted offers a minimal description—kissing and embracing—which Leo dismisses as common knowledge. Ted then describes the feeling as being on top of the world, comparing it to pleasant, dreamlike sensations. When Leo threatens to stop carrying messages unless told more, Ted’s patience breaks and he orders Leo out.

Sunday evening, returning to the Hall, Leo locks himself in his room and writes a letter to his mother, asking her to send a telegram before his birthday on July 27. He wants her to bring him home. He vaguely describes the messenger errands as physically exhausting and morally dubious, perhaps even very wrong. Privately, he connects the affair to potential murder, with Ted’s gun and violent temper making the threat feel concrete.

To his surprise, he is warmly welcomed at tea rather than shunned. With Mrs. Maudsley taken ill, Marian presides brilliantly in her mother’s absence, with Trimingham at her side. Leo contrasts the genteel atmosphere with the rawness of Ted’s kitchen. When Marian’s eyes signal a wish to speak with him privately, Leo ignores her. He has resolved that leaving Brandham Hall is the only way to prevent Marian and Ted from meeting and thus protect Trimingham—Leo’s first genuine sense of moral obligation extending beyond his own interests.

That evening, Trimingham asks Leo to find Marian and explains that she is leaving for London the next morning until Wednesday. Leo mentions her supposed visit to Nannie Robson; Trimingham is mildly skeptical, noting the old woman’s memory is unreliable. He also observes that Leo looks pale and mentions that Mrs. Maudsley is unwell but prefers no fuss.

Sunday evening before dinner, Leo encounters Marcus, and the two walk toward the old outhouses to see the deadly nightshade, finding a small footprint on the path. Marcus reveals that his mother is in bed with a severe headache caused by worry that Marian may not honor her engagement. He also reports that Marian never appeared at Nannie Robson’s cottage and that the nanny complained she rarely visits.

Marcus then discloses that Marian is going to London to buy Leo a birthday present: a bicycle—the thing Leo wants most and knows his mother cannot afford. His delight vanishes when Marcus adds that the bicycle is bright green because, Marcus claims, Marian considers Leo naive and easily manipulated. Leo recognizes the same implication in his green suit. Stung, he takes revenge by claiming to know where Marian currently is, refusing to tell Marcus.

At the outhouse, the deadly nightshade has grown so large it crowds through the doorway; Leo finds its appearance unnatural and sinister. They then hear Ted’s voice—insistent and cajoling—followed by a toneless, unrecognizable reply. Marcus wants to investigate, but Leo persuades him to leave.

Later, Leo slips downstairs, finds the postbox unlocked, removes the letter to his mother. After a moment’s hesitation, he returns it to the postbox to be delivered.

Monday and Tuesday. Leo comes to breakfast to find his letter already collected and feels immediate relief. Marian has departed for London and Mrs. Maudsley remains in bed. The reduced household relaxes into informality, and the two days feel to Leo like a gentle convalescence.

On Tuesday morning, a letter from Ted arrives at Leo’s breakfast place. Ted apologizes for losing his temper, invites Leo back the following Sunday for shooting and tea, promises a genuine attempt to answer the question Leo had asked about spooning, and signs himself as a faithful friend. Leo reads the letter several times but suspects it is a ploy to reinstate him as a messenger and does not consider replying.

He finds Trimingham in the smoking room and asks about Ted. Trimingham calls him decent but reckless—essentially a womanizer—which Leo takes literally, reassuring himself that Trimingham is not physically at risk. The conversation shifts: Trimingham has been urging Ted to enlist for the Boer War and reports that Ted, initially unwilling, seemed open to the idea when Trimingham visited the farm the previous day. Mr. Maudsley remarks that Ted’s departure would not be a loss. As Leo leaves, he overhears Mr. Maudsley tell Trimingham that Ted reportedly has a woman nearby—a comment whose full meaning escapes Leo entirely.