In which Will Ladislaw, burdened by altered hopes and the weight of social opinion, seeks one last meeting with Dorothea before preparing to leave Middlemarch, and they share a parting fraught with unspoken affection and sorrowful restraint. Meanwhile, Dorothea contends with whispered gossip and her own steadfast defence of Will’s character, revealing the complexities of honour, love, and societal judgement that surround them both.