Chapter 2 Summary

Margaret (Meg) explains, in her discussion of the letters, to Aunt Juley, that she and Helen had met the Wilcox family in Germany while exploring an old cathedral that had been poorly restored to their way of thinking. Helen had befriended the Wilcox family, Meg explains to Aunt Juley, and they all spent time together during their vacation. According to Meg, The Wilcoxes are pleasant enough people, but she does not know them well and certainly does not know Paul well enough to think that he might be an appropriate fiancé for Helen.

Therefore, the two women decide that Aunt Juley should go to Howards End, not to create a scene, but to make inquiries and to make a determination about the situation in which Helen has found herself. Aunt Juley leaves on the 11 a.m. train, having been upgraded from a second-class...