In the summer of 1906, Lady Marjorie is enamored with her son, James' friend, Captain Charles Hammond. She has an affair with him, though guilt propels her to break it off. While Lady Bellamy and Rose are away in the country, a new under-house-parlour maid, Mary Stokes, arrives. She is pregnant, having been raped by Myles Radford, the son of a powerful politician and a Bellamy family friend. Richard Bellamy attempts to help Mary, but the Radfords refuse to take responsibility and the legal system proves ineffective. Mary quits, but departs with a small gift of money from some of the servants.