The More Haste The Worse Speed
- Henry Lennox has just finished seeing his brother and his new sister-in-law off on their way to Greece. On his way home, he has decided to stop off at the Hales' house.
- When Margaret ducks out for a moment, Henry glances around to see if Helstone really is as lovely as Margaret has described it. And it is. He's only surprised at just how modest the Hales' house is. If you're looking for the subtext, here it is: Henry is checking out how much money Margaret has to her name.
- Margaret returns and regrets to inform him that all she can offer for supper is some cold meat, since they don't have anything fresh.
- Until supper, Margaret suggests that they spend the afternoon sketching some of the villages' cottages.
- Once out in nature, Henry can really see why Margaret loves Helstone so much. While they're out, Lennox starts to pay her compliments. Margaret eventually becomes uncomfortable, sensing that this is all leading somewhere.
- Luckily, she gets back home before Lennox can continue.
- Later, the two of them go back out into nature. Henry apologizes for saying back in Chapter 1 that Margaret made her home village sound like something out of a fairy tale. He lapses back into an emotional, flattering way of speaking. Margaret dreads what he's going to say next.
- You guessed it: Henry Lennox wants Margaret to marry him. She totally turns him down though, and he's crushed.
- And guess what, the two of them still have to go back to the house and hang with Margaret's parents. Henry needs to pretend as if everything's fine.
- The two of them come upon Mr. Hale in the garden and they head inside the house.
- Finally, once the agony is over, Henry Lennox leaves.