Beatrix inquires with the bank about her royalty earnings, wondering if she would perhaps someday be able to buy a house in the country. She is amazed and delighted to learn that her book sales have made her wealthy enough to buy several estates and a house in town if she wishes. When she returns home her parents make a proposition: that Beatrix keep her engagement to Norman a secret and holiday with them in the Lake District for the summer. If she still wishes to marry him at the end of the summer, they agree that they will not object to the marriage. Beatrix agrees to the proposition and is quite convinced that she will not change her mind, telling her parents to prepare for an October wedding.