Chapter 9 Summary

For a period, the governess watched the children closely and with great affection and wondered how they could not notice they she suspected strange things of them. They responded with their own affections and remarkable performances at their lessons. As they continued to surprise and impress her, she opted to remain silent on the matter of Miles's expulsion with what she described as "unnatural composure." She also described occasions when one would distract her while the other slipped away.

The time proceeded peacefully until the governess sensed a movement in the house one night. She quietly rose from her reading, left her room and locked it from the hall. She walked along the hall until she reached sight of a tall window at the staircase. Her candle blew out, and she became aware of Quint on his way up the stairs. He fixed...