Day 2, Morning Summary

Having spent the night at a guesthouse in Salisbury, Stevens awakens early because of the unfamiliar surroundings. He dresses for the day well ahead of the landlady's scheduled breakfast time. Stevens takes this time to ruminate about Miss Kenton's letter yet again. Even though Miss Kenton is now actually a married woman named Mrs. Benn, Stevens refers to her as Miss Kenton because that is the context in which he knew her.

According to Miss Kenton's letter, her marriage is failing, and she intimates that she may need to return to Darlington Hall to return a sense of stability to her life. Although not sure of Miss Kenton's intentions, Stevens admits to himself that her return would be the perfect solution to the staging problem at Darlington.

Stevens recalls the time when Miss Kenton first came to Darlington Hall. At this...