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.
