In which Darrow, amidst the lingering storm and encroaching dusk, wrestles with the uneasy revelations concerning Sophy Viner, whose presence at Givre has stirred a complex web of loyalty, suspicion, and forbidden sentiment among the household. Madame de Chantelle, with her old-world earnestness, implores him to intervene for the sake of her grandson, while Darrow finds himself caught between discretion and an urgent need to confront what lies ahead.