Returning to the Point for the summer, Polly retrieves her mail and discovers several letters from Robert to Dick, which Robert sent before he knew of Dick’s death. Polly recalls their courtship and her parents’ initial reluctance because of Dick’s career as a stodgy academic rather than someone with greater social potential. She also recalls a gathering with school friends shortly after they’d all married: One friend, Helen, expressed great disappointment, certain she’d made a mistake. The other girls quickly assured her that she merely had “honeymoon blues” (202) and they’d pass. At the time, Polly was skeptical but said nothing.

Polly heads to Agnes’s in the evening, and Agnes reveals that she has been writing a memoir at Maud Silver’s urging. Agnes insists that she merely wants to stop Maud from pestering her further. Polly asks about Agnes’s health, and Agnes assures her that she’s still cancer-free. Polly tells her about the letters that Robert wrote to Dick, and the two women discuss whether Polly should read them. Later, Polly does. In them, Robert muses on topics such as justice and literature. Polly writes back to Robert, worried that Robert might have thought ill of Dick when he didn’t reply.