In which Gwendolen receives a distressing letter from her mother revealing the family's financial ruin, prompting her to confront the abrupt reality of loss and dependency with a mixture of pride and practicality. Amidst her struggle to maintain dignity, an unsolicited return of a sold necklace by a stranger—whom she suspects to be Deronda—adds an uncomfortable poignancy to her decision to leave Leubronn and return home.