In which Lily wakes to the stark reality of her precarious circumstances and, after a tense reckoning with her aunt over debts incurred through society’s costly demands and card-playing, finds herself grappling with the pressing need for help and the painful considerations of pride and dependence. As hopes of solace from Lawrence Selden fade with his unexpected departure, she faces an uneasy proposal from Rosedale and a sudden invitation that promises a change in her fortunes, fraught with unspoken complexities.