Some months later, Lucy and Charlotte have returned to England. They reside at Windy Corner, the Honeychurch family home, in a small rural parish named Summer Street. Mrs. Honeychurch is Lucy's mother. She speaks to Lucy's brother, Freddy, while eagerly awaiting news from Lucy, as something is "coming to a head" (90). In Rome, Lucy met Cecil Vyse; she and Charlotte stayed with the Vyse family. There, Cecil twice proposed to Lucy, but she turned him down each time. Now, he is proposing for a third time.

Cecil is a wealthy upper-middle-class man who looks down on the rural community. Freddy harbors a "dim mistrust" (92) toward the arrogant, snobbish Cecil, while Mrs. Honeychurch is pleased that her daughter might make such a good marriage. Lucy agrees to marry Cecil, then calmly tells her mother and brother about her decision.

Cecil writes to his mother about his new engagement. He describes how Lucy seemed uninterested in him when they first met in Rome, but how he eventually wore down her resistance with his cryptic comments about art and culture. Cecil believes that Lucy is beneath him in terms of social class but believes that she has the potential to be a respectable young woman.