Louis becomes increasingly concerned not with reconciliation but with gaining control of his young son, and with Bozzle's assistance he watches Emily's movements and schemes to secure the child, turning the marital dispute from a question of love and honour into a brutal struggle over possession and parental authority. Sir Marmaduke and Lady Rowley return to England hoping to protect their daughter and reason with their son-in-law, but Louis rejects nearly every attempt at mediation and clings to the conviction that he alone is right, eventually separating the boy from Emily and inflicting suffering on the entire family. In contrast, Dorothy becomes increasingly certain of her love for Brooke despite Miss Stanbury's objections and questions of inheritance, while Nora and Hugh continue to choose one another despite poverty and parental resistance, sending the novel's different relationships toward sharply contrasting outcomes.
