It is August, a year later, and life has set into a predictable pattern. The Archers spent the winter in the new house and rode in the new brougham the Wellands purchased for them. Newland has arranged his library, met Winsett and young friends for drinks, and he and May have attended the opera. They are back in Newport—Newland rather reluctantly—and it is late summer.
It is the Newport Archery Club’s annual tournament and May confidently wins. As he watches, Newland is struck by the change in Julius Beaufort’s appearance; he has aged considerably and Wall Street rumors say he is in trouble because of speculation. After the tournament May suddenly suggests that they see Old Mrs. Mingott. She shows her grandmother the expensive brooch the Beauforts gave her for winning first place. Then Newland is sent to get Ellen who is visiting for the day. He finds her on a pier by the seashore and silently watches her. When she does not turn around, he walks back up the hill.
On the drive home May suggests Ellen has changed and might be happier if she returned to her husband. Newland is shocked and says May is being cruel. But later that night he lies awake, contrasting his dull life with a romantic vision of Ellen riding home in the moonlight.
When the Wellands receive an invitation to a party for Mrs. Blenker and her daughters, Newland surmises that Ellen might be in the area since Medora Manson is a friend of the Blenkers. While Mr. Welland and May take a drive and Mrs. Welland goes to the party, Newland takes the opportunity to look for a horse at a stud farm near the Blenker cottage. He finds himself longing for Ellen like an addiction. He speaks with one of the Blenker daughters and finds out Ellen has been called away with a telegram from Boston. She will be there two days and is staying at the Parker House. Sensing a chance to give his life a change from its “endless emptiness,” Newland decides to pursue her to Boston.
The next morning Newland takes the Fall River train, telling May he has business in Boston and will go on to New York. Fortunately, a letter from his law firm arrived the night before, giving credence to his lie, and no one seems suspicious.
When in Boston he sends a message to Ellen at Parker House, but the messenger returns saying she is “out.” Newland, surprised, walks to Parker House and sees her sitting on a bench in the Commons. She is startled to see him. Traveling unconventionally without a maid, she has met an emissary from her husband. The Count has offered her a huge sum of money if she will return and “sit at the head of his table occasionally.” She refused but is to meet again with the emissary at 11 a.m. Instead, Newland suggests they take a steamboat ride to Point Arley and dine.
Sensing his idea of an “adventure,” Ellen writes a note and they take a cab to Palmer House where she takes the note inside. Newland sees a familiar man that seems out of place in the crowd while he is impatiently waiting, but he cannot recall his name. They journey to the steamboat and ride to Point Arley in silence. It is a comfortable silence and Newland does not want to break the feeling of the moment. They find an inn for lunch and, because it is noisy, he asks for a private room. She puts his conscience at rest by making it seem natural because they are old friends.
At lunch Newland hears about her past 18 months and, while she appreciates New York taking her in, she cannot understand why it wants to be a carbon copy of Europe. When he asks why she does not go back to Europe, she confesses it is because of him. He has made her understand a sensitive and exquisite love in comparison to her life in Europe. When he admits that his marriage is a sham, she cries quietly because her life is empty also. Ellen promises to stay as long as she can see him, but they must not betray May. Though he does not want to believe that this is all they can have, she assures him that it is. He holds her for a moment and she promises not to go back to Europe yet.
