Rebecca wins her way into the affections of those who count in this household. She asks Mr. Pitt to translate French for her, though she knows it better than he. She sighs and cries over his pious discourses and tells him she is descended from the Montmorency family, but omits the detail that her mother was an actress. Rebecca plays backgammon with Sir Pitt. She copies his letters, corrects his spelling, reads his law papers, learns about running the estate, and wins the baronet's confidence to the degree that he begins to depend on her advice.
Sir Pitt's sons, Pitt and Rawdon, hate each other. Miss Crawley, the rich aunt, has sent Rawdon, her favorite, to Cambridge. After two years he is expelled, and she buys him a commission in the Life Guards Green where he is a dandy and fights duels. Pitt Crawley objects to visits from his rich aunt because he can't pray and read his sermons. She won't leave him money anyhow, having a weakness for Rawdon's wild, unorthodox, and radical ways, and calling Pitt a "puling hypocrite."
After his description of the honest folk at Queen's Crawley, Thackeray introduces the Reverend Bute Crawley, who bets on the races, boxes, eats, drinks, sings, fishes, follows the hounds, and is generally popular in the area. His wife writes his sermons, runs the house, and lets him go as he pleases, knowing every meal he eats elsewhere saves her money. Bute, in debt from a wild racing bet, thinks his rich sister must leave him half her money. Sir Pitt and Bute quarrel and spy on each other continually, but when their rich sister visits, they love each other and wait on her like toadies.
