Summary

Thirsk spends the night in the widow Kitty Gosse's bed, which he tells us he has been doing with some frequency since his wife, Cecily, died. His feelings for Kitty are "only physical" (84), he says, but they both find comfort in each other in the wake of their spouses' deaths. Thirsk remarks that Kitty is aging and not especially beautiful, and he wonders what she sees in him -- because the village residents do not keep mirrors in the house, he can only guess what his face looks like these days. By going to her house tonight, Thirsk tells us, he is seeking consolation after the upsetting things he has overheard in Master Kent's house.

Master Jordan, Thirsk tells us, declared in the gentlemen's meeting that the older newcomer had gotten exactly what he deserved when he died, and that the younger man still...