Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary

Music, Violets and the Letter S-- On a rainy afternoon, Lucy sits down to the piano in the Bertolini's drawing room and plays Beethoven, reflecting on how the world seems to make a little more sense when she's at the piano. Mr. Beebe listens, himself reflecting on a comment he once made after hearing her play in a recital: "If Miss Honeychurch ever takes to live as she plays, it will be very exciting - both for us and for her." He recounts the comment to Lucy, who jokes that her mother once said something similar. She tries to explain how music makes her feel, but doesn't have the words. She takes embarrassed refuge in commenting that Miss Bartlett, who has gone out in the rain with Miss Lavish, will be soaked when she comes back.

This leads into a...