In which Lady Monogram’s failure to impress at Madame Melmotte’s soirée leaves her and Miss Longestaffe ill at ease, whilst the latter wrestles with the social chasm revealed by her engagement to the wealthy Mr. Brehgert, a fact that ignites severe disapproval from her father. With a reluctant spirit, Miss Longestaffe retreats from fashionable society back to her family’s country home, amid whispered rumours and unresolved tensions marking the fragile borders between old gentry and rising commerce.