Across Oxford, people prepare for the coming war. The younger men are excited, while older ones advise caution. The Scriptorium loses many of its men as they join the fighting, so work on the Dictionary slows. Volunteers like Ditte are pushed to work harder.

At the Press, which has also many employees, Esme learns more about Gareth’s work and the artistic precision involved in compositing. She feels guilty thinking his work was simplistic. One of the printers hints that Gareth may soon be enlisting. Later Gareth shows Esme a white feather—a symbol of cowardice—that had been left at the Press door and they consider the meanings of the word “Loss.” Lizzie encourages Esme to tell Gareth the truth about Megan. When she does, he is understanding. Gareth invites Esme for a picnic and gives her a gift: a bound version of all her lost words, entitled “Women’s Words and Their Meanings, Edited by Esme Nicoll” (332)—Lizzie and people from the Dictionary helped him assemble it in secret. Then Gareth asks Esme to marry him.