- Even though Anna's mom banned her from corresponding with Clarissa, Anna doesn't care. She tells Clarissa to drop it. It's totally cool!
- Clarissa's family is refusing to send her money or clothes, since she's supposedly "ruined" and all.
- Oh yeah, and remember Joseph Leman? That dastardly servant guy who helped Lovelace get away with Clarissa? Lovelace finally confesses to Clarissa that he was a spy in the Harlowe home.
- Although Clarissa's no fool, she's trying to figure out how to work the situation out. Is she in love with Lovelace, or isn't she?
- It doesn't help that Lovelace is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of lovers.
- First, he makes fun of Clarissa's family. Then, he shows his soft underbelly by giving Clarissa letters from his aunt and cousin. Turns out, they do exist! And they want to meet Clarissa.
- Clarissa's onto Lovelace's game, though, and insists on going to London.
- That's cool, Lovelace says. He'll just write to his totally unbiased friend, Tom Doleman, to ask about separate lodgings.
- Maybe Clarissa's put on her rose-colored glasses again, because she happily agrees to go to a nice little house on Dover Street in London. Everything will be hunky-dory!
- Not a moment too soon, either, because Clarissa's brother plans to kidnap her back and marry her off to Solmes. His buddy, a guy named Captain Singleton, is going to help him do it.
- Lovelace is secretly worried about it, even though he makes fun of James to Clarissa.
- The dastardly servant, Leman, pops up again. This time, he writes a letter to Lovelace letting him know he's in major trouble.
- Turns out, Lovelace got a lady named Miss Betterton pregnant a long time ago. She died in childbirth, but Lovelace may still be on the hook for her ruin.
- It's getting a little spooky around here. Arabella (remember that delightful sister of Clarissa's?) writes to tell Clarissa that her dad has put a curse on her.
- That's right. He's so hopping mad that he's not only cursed her in this lifetime, but in the next one, too.
- Clarissa's sick with worry (because curses are legit, we guess?), but she's determined to go through with the London plan.
- She's so upset that she almost makes an honest man out of Lovelace. Not quite, though.
- Belford writes back to Lovelace and tells him it's time to back off from the Clarissa scheme. If he doesn't care that much about Clarissa's rep, think of his own.
- Aunt Hervey writes to Clarissa, even though it's a major non-no. She's pretty much all "Yep, you're screwed."
- Anna, always the BFF, tries to give Clarissa some cold, hard cash. Clarissa turns it down before she heads out the door for London, because she's an independent woman. Kind of.