Summary

Hazel and Iona are able to get Hazel looking appropriate for the ball. Bernard excitedly greets Hazel as she enters, and she notices some people she would prefer not to speak to. She thinks about how easy it would be to pretend to faint in order to go home because no one ever thinks twice about a woman fainting. Hazel tries to excuse her behavior towards Bernard from a couple of days ago. He says it is forgotten, but his body language does not seem to agree.

Bernard asks Hazel if she has another suitor, and she is adamant that she does not. He mentions the boots he noticed at the door, and she explains that they were George’s, and she wears them so as to not muddy her own. He asks Hazel to go for a walk in the gardens...