As the examination nears, Hazel does her best to focus on her studies and avoid thinking about the mutilated corpse and her kiss with Jack. At Iona’s insistence, she goes for a walk in Princes Street Gardens. Looking around at the other well-to-do people enjoying the sunshine, Hazel wonders, “How did the rich so easily dismiss the chaos and terror within their city?” (217). A socialite named Hyacinth Caldwater asks Hazel about her engagement to Bernard. Although Hazel estimates that the woman is about 50, she is pregnant. Mrs. Caldwater credits Dr. Beecham’s medical advice with her pregnancy. Hazel returns her attention to the book Dr. Beecham gave her and discovers a diagram of the human hand tucked between its pages. The parchment is old and faded, leading her to believe that the diagram is the work of Dr. Beecham’s illustrious grandfather.

The next person to interrupt Hazel’s reading is Bernard. He apologizes for his disreputable behavior at the party and once again asks Hazel to marry him. She thinks longingly of Jack but accepts Bernard’s proposal, certain that there “was only ever one life for her if she wanted to survive” (222). Bernard asks if Hazel has another suitor, and she assures him that there was never “a Bavarian duke or whomever else anyone in the New Town has invented in order to amuse themselves while the theater is closed” (223).