The following morning, Cass is at home when she receives a telephone call from Ida, who asks her about Rufus’s whereabouts. Cass invites Ida to her house later that afternoon, as she expects Vivaldo to visit. After Ida accepts, Cass puts down the phone and intervenes in a fight between her two sons, Michael and Paul. Eventually, Richard wakes up and joins his family for breakfast. Later, Richard takes Michael and Paul to the cinema. Cass stays at home and reflects on the 12 years she has spent with Richard.

That afternoon, Cass bakes a cake to try and dispel her gloomy mood. With the boys at the cinema, Richard works alone in his study. Vivaldo arrives for lunch and complains that he was out late with Jane. He mentions that Rufus “just disappeared” (66) the previous night. They discuss Vivaldo’s complicated love life before Richard joins them, carrying the manuscript of his finished novel for Vivaldo to read. Ida arrives, complaining that she has been “scouring the city” (68) for Rufus. After seeing Rufus the previous evening, however, neither Richard, Cass, nor Vivaldo can tell Ida where her brother might be.