Burgo Fitzgerald reappears in Glencora’s life and further unsettles her marriage, while Alice receives a proposal from George that openly acknowledges his need for her money to support his political ambitions and nevertheless agrees to become engaged to him again. John continues to love Alice and tries to protect her from the consequences of her choice, but she convinces herself that George’s energy and political aspirations offer the active life she has been seeking and even allows her fortune to support his career. George throws himself into parliamentary politics, while Mrs Greenow continues to manipulate the rivalry between Cheesacre and Bellfield with comic but calculated skill. Yet George’s darker and increasingly violent temperament becomes more visible, and when the old Vavasor whose inheritance he has long expected finally dies, his financial and political hopes enter a decisive new phase.
