At Clement Hall, Charlotte Hastings and Jocelyn Lewis race through the gardens, teasing and chasing each other until Jocelyn steals Charlotte’s journal. They tumble together by the orchard, and after Charlotte recites vulnerable lines from memory, their mutual feelings break through and they kiss, deepening beyond a chaste moment as they hold each other.

The moment is abruptly interrupted by Charlotte’s brother, James Hastings, who picks up the discarded journal, just as their father arrives asking about the horses. James quickly lies, claiming he was showing Jocelyn their mother’s garden with Charlotte chaperoning, an explanation that doubles as a hint of a suitable match between James and Jocelyn.

Jocelyn, flushed and ashamed, avoids Charlotte’s gaze and asks to leave. Their father escorts Jocelyn to her carriage without any acknowledgment between the girls, leaving Charlotte stunned and heartsick as rain begins to fall.

Back at the steps in the downpour, James confronts Charlotte, warning that she is no longer a child and must abide by rules and expectations. He contrasts their unequal freedoms as man and woman, noting he will need a wife and she a husband, and cautions her to be careful before returning the journal.

That night, overwhelmed by fear and the weight of propriety, Charlotte rips out and burns the last ten pages of her journal—the ones that likely recorded her feelings about Jocelyn—watching the words curl and vanish. As the fire dies, she feels a frail sense of relief and tells herself the matter is finished.