Lucy wishes she could talk to someone about her "queer and odd" (52) experience. She keeps her thoughts to herself, however. The next day, she ventures out with Charlotte rather than the Emersons and Mr. Beebe. She leads Lucy back to Piazza Signoria, where they spot Miss Lavish. As a writer, Miss Lavish is fascinated by the stabbing and wants to write about it in her book. She plans to write a satire that is "unmerciful to the British tourist" (54) stereotype. Hearing this, Lucy hopes that she will not appear in the novel.

Further on their walk, Lucy and Charlotte run into Mr. Eager. He invites the women to join his group on a trip out into the countryside around Florence. They accept, before the conversation again turns to the stabbing. Like Miss Lavish, Eager presses Lucy for details but she is reluctant to answer.

After rudely dismissing a street vendor, Eager launches into a long complaint about how much he dislikes and disapproves of Mr. Emerson. He reveals that the working-class Emerson was "a mechanic of some sort" (58) who married a wealthy wife. According to Eager's hints, Emerson may possess a dark secret.