As the novel picks up, Edith is getting married to Captain Sholto Lennox and moving to Corfu where he is posted. Though very fond of Edith, Margaret is growing tired of the shallow pursuits and vapid social interactions that constitute her life in London. She is relieved that after the wedding she will be returning to Helstone to live with her parents. Margaret has had only brief visits to Helstone during her decade in London and has formed an idealized picture in her mind of life there- quiet, peaceful, and perfect. She attempts to describe it to Henry Lennox, brother to Edith's fiance, who has become her friend. Or rather, Margaret regards him as a friend: he has developed deeper feelings for her though being a cautious, methodical lawyer, he has never expressed them. So, oblivious to his regard, Margaret happily returns to Helstone and settles there.
Margaret's intuition about her father's state of mind proves correct. Rev. Hale is having a crisis of faith- not in God, but in the tenets of the Church of England. He doesn't feel that he can, in good conscience, remain in his post as a vicar and so has resigned from his parish. Hale has been corresponding with his old college friend Mr. Bell who owns land in the northern factory town of Milton. He suggests that Rev. Hale move there and take work as a tutor. Mr. Hale has decided to do this and finally confides in Margaret, who is completely shocked. He pitifully begs her to break the news to her mother, as he can't bring himself to do so. Reluctantly Margaret does it, dealing with her mother's confusion, grief, and anger while her father absents himself from the house.
Within weeks they have left their home in Helstone and are travelling towards Milton and a completely new way of life.