Chapter 12 Summary

The household is together, having Sunday lunch. There was never a special seating arrangement; they just sat where they wanted when they arrived. They are all talking to their neighbors at the table about various topics. Pierce gets up abruptly and walks out the front door after watching Barbara and Ducane talk in French together.

Mary decides to leave also, but she doesn't go after Pierce. She thinks that she is making a fool of herself, giving way to self-pity. Perhaps she just needs a holiday or to get a proper job. As she is thinking to herself, Ducane joins her. He apologizes to her, saying that he didn't realize how serious things were for Pierce. She begins to cry and he tries to comfort her.

She tells him that she is upset about Willy, about how he holds her at a distance...