Chapter 23 Summary

Maud and Roland are at Baie des Trépassés talking about the drowned city of Is when they see Leonora and Blackadder walking across the dunes. They quickly rush back to their hotel unseen. Upon returning, they notice a black Mercedes leaving the hotel lot and realize Cropper has also arrived. They know they have done nothing wrong, but they do not want to fight it out with the other scholars. Maud and Roland decide to leave quickly and let the others quarrel amongst themselves as they find out the rest of the story.

Maud and Roland have been in France three weeks. During their time together they have developed a sort of unspoken closeness. Roland wonders if they will have a relationship back in the real world. They are very different. She is upper class, and he is lower middleclass. Roland...