Summary

Legat wakes up in one of the Number 10 staff attic rooms. As he warms water in the bathroom and dresses, Legat notices his growing resemblance to his father. It is the fifth anniversary of his top score in the Diplomatic Service Entrance Examinations, when he had still felt promising. Pamela had accepted his proposal of marriage, full of even larger ambitions. Those promises seem empty now.

Legat intends to slip out for breakfast, but Mrs. Chamberlain invites him in to eat with them. She thanks him for his hard work, knowing “the personal cost of public service” (93). Legat loads a plate as Mrs. Chamberlain asks after his family. The three eat in silence until Chamberlain exclaims over a newspaper article about the interactions of little owls and blackbirds. He asks Legat to make a note so he can write to the...