One winter day, Tess attempts to visit Angel's family at the parsonage in Emminster, hoping for practical assistance. As she nears her destination, she encounters Angel's older brothers, with Mercy Chant. They do not recognise her, but she overhears them discussing Angel's unwise marriage and dares not approach them. On the way home, she overhears a wandering preacher and is shocked to find that it is Alec d'Urberville, who has been converted to Methodism under the influence of the Reverend James Clare.