While Hetty is parting with Arthur, Dinah is taking her leave of the Bedes. When she and Seth are gone, Adam and his mother talk about her. Lisbeth approves of Dinah so much that she hints that Adam ought to marry her, but Adam ignores her.
Dinah and Seth, meanwhile, encounter Hetty on her way back from the Chase. Seth turns back, and the two women go on towards the Hall Farm together. Dinah tries to get Hetty to talk about Adam to find out if she returns Adam's affection, but to no avail. Hetty's thoughts are all of Arthur.
When they arrive at the farm, Mr. and Mrs. Poyser are sitting up with Totty, who is ill. Some talk of the Bedes passes; Mr. Poyser praises Adam as a reliable young man, and Mrs. Poyser dispenses some of her usual practical wisdom. Totty becomes restless, and Mrs. Poyser asks Hetty to take her upstairs. The child refuses to go to Hetty, though, and Mrs. Poyser suggests that Dinah take her. Totty very willingly goes to Dinah, and everyone retires for the night.
First we follow Hetty into her bedroom. The girl, full of romantic notions about Arthur, sets about her favorite occupation. She puts on the earrings and other bits of finery that she keeps hidden away and admires herself in the mirror. She imagines herself married to Arthur and paces about the room like her conception of a great lady.
The author then breaks her narrative to launch into a long analysis of the relationship between goodness and beauty. She says that men are often deceived by a pretty face into thinking that the owner of it is good. On this subject, she insists, all that glitters is definitely not gold.
The scene then shifts to Dinah's bedroom. While Hetty has been primping, Dinah has been sitting in the twilight thinking of God, of the poor people at Snowfield to whom she is to return in the morning, and her friends in Hayslope. She hears a sound from Hetty's room, and this starts her thinking about the girl. She knows Hetty is cold and selfish, and she is moved to try to help her. Dinah goes to Hetty's room and assures her that if she ever gets in trouble, she should feel free to contact her. Instead of being grateful for this consideration, Hetty is frightened at the mere mention of future pain and tells Dinah to go away. Dinah sadly complies and prays for Hetty; Hetty, falling asleep, dreams of Arthur.
