Thackeray begins this installment with a discourse on how all the doors of fashion now open for Becky and how vain it all is. He lists the important people and places she visits. Becky continues to charm people; the women try to snub Becky but she bests them.
Vanity Fair wonders where Becky gets money to entertain. Some say she begs; some say she levies it. The author says, "The truth is that by economy and good management—by a sparing use of ready money and by paying scarcely anybody—people can manage, for a time at least, to make a great show with very little means."
Charades are popular at this time and Becky urges Lord Steyne to present some. She outshines all the other women in the character of Clytemnestra, and at supper sits with the royal personage in attendance. Becky's triumphs alarm Rawdon; they seem to separate her from him. On the way home from the charade party, Rawdon is arrested by two bailiffs and taken to jail for debts.
A flashback now shows the reader that Lord Steyne has insisted on sending little Rawdon away to a special school. His father has grieved at his departure, but his mother has wanted to be rid of him. Little Rawdon gets on well at school. As Lord Steyne's protege, Sir Pitt's nephew, and the son of a colonel, he has both position and money.
Steyne next has proposed to get rid of Briggs. Failing in this, he has suspected that the money he has given Becky to pay Briggs has been used for something else. He has questioned Briggs and confirmed his suspicions. He has solved the Briggs problem by giving her a position at Gauntly Hall. Becky has attributed her failure in paying Briggs to Rawdon's demands that he have the money himself, telling his wife that he would pay Briggs.
Rawdon, delighted that Briggs has security, has begun to feel uneasy over Becky. Lady Jane and Sir Pitt have protested that Becky shouldn't be allowed to go about without a companion. They have urged Rawdon to go with her. Becky's failure to pay attention to Sir Pitt's remonstrances has resulted in strained relations between the two families. Rawdon has become Becky's watchdog, and her charm has lulled his suspicion.
Now the reader returns to Rawdon, who is not too depressed by his situation. He has been locked up before. But when time passes, and he does not get a reply from his letter to Becky, he wonders. When he finally receives word that Becky will get money from Lord Steyne, all his suspicions return. He writes a note addressed to Sir Pitt or Lady Jane imploring assistance. Lady Jane comes within an hour. Rawdon's violent appreciation startles Lady Jane, and she goes home to pray for him.
Rawdon hurries home and finds Lord Steyne and Becky together. Rawdon strikes Lord Steyne, throws a diamond pin at him, which cuts him on the forehead, leaving a permanent scar. Becky pleads innocence, but Lord Steyne thinks the two of them have laid a trap and he condemns Becky. Taking Becky's keys, Rawdon ransacks her possessions and discovers her secret hoard. Becky admits the thousand pound note has come from Lord Steyne. Rawdon determines to return it, and to pay off creditors with the other money. Even while Becky protests her innocence, Rawdon leaves her. The French maid comes in, comforts Becky, puts her to bed, and gathers up the jewels.
