When Walter concludes that his financial position makes marriage to Mary impossible, the two lovers separate despite their feelings for one another, and the disappointed Mary gradually turns toward Gilmore and appears ready to accept the security and devotion he offers even though her love for Walter has not disappeared, while Sam leaves home again and Fenwick continues his efforts to help Carry as the dispute over Puddleham’s new chapel intensifies his conflict with the Marquis of Trowbridge, expanding the story from private love and family troubles into broader tensions involving religion, class, property, and village authority.