On an extremely hot day at the end of August, Mrs. Yeobright sets off across the heath to visit Clym and Eustacia, but loses her way to the unfamiliar village of Alderworth, where they live. Seeking directions, she is told to follow a furze cutter going along a path. She does so, only to realize finally that it is her son Clym. Resting in a clump of trees near Clym's house, she sees a man come to the house before she can get there.
It is Wildeve, come to call on Eustacia in the daytime. Eustacia admits him, and they talk in a room where Clym is asleep on the hearth rug. They discuss her marriage, Wildeve hinting that he is still in love with her. When Mrs. Yeobright knocks on the front door, Eustacia doesn't know what to do, finally deciding that Clym will probably awaken and answer the door. She quickly lets Wildeve out the back. When she returns, she finds Clym still asleep and Mrs. Yeobright no longer at the door.
Mrs. Yeobright has already started for home, previously overheated and exhausted and now shocked because Clym has apparently allowed Eustacia to refuse her entrance. The older woman encounters Johnny Nunsuch, who goes a short distance with her and is upset by her appearance. When he leaves her, she finally sits down to rest, watching a heron flying gracefully in the sky.
