In which the quiet passage of a year brings a muted domestic serenity to Henchard and Elizabeth-Jane, marked by gentle watchfulness and the subtle shifts of affection and jealousy that colour their days. Amid pastoral surroundings and the hum of market life, Henchard contemplates the tender bonds and fragile hopes that tether him, even as the whispered intimacies of Elizabeth-Jane’s companionship with Farfrae stir within him a profound and troubled foreboding.