In Lady Strauss's suite after the deaths, Evangeline tearfully claims she walked in to find Penelope had already stabbed her maid Ruth, then turned the knife on herself. Hester notices blood on Evangeline's hands, which Evangeline hastily explains away. Evangeline plants the suggestion that Penelope was jealous over Samuel, exploiting his old affair with her, and Samuel comforts her protectively. Richard remarks that Penelope looked as if a wind were pushing her over the railing—echoing Penelope's prophetic dream—and Hester agrees, but the observation is brushed aside.

Hester, devastated and in pain from her knee, retreats with Richard's help. She refuses his comfort, fearing she'll break down, and privately grieves Penelope. The next morning, her maid Mary tends her swollen knee while Hester refuses laudanum, determined to stay sharp because Evangeline now has Samuel completely under her sway.

Samuel visits, dismissing Hester's guilt and parroting Evangeline's narrative. Two constables, Red and Gander, take Hester's statement. She identifies the knife as likely from her grandfather's library collection, argues Penelope would never have killed anyone, and points out no one witnessed Penelope stab Ruth—Evangeline merely claimed Ruth was already dead. The constables politely dismiss her doubts as the shock of an old lady, concluding Penelope became unbalanced.

Wracked with guilt for inviting Penelope, Hester is interrupted when Cordelia arrives. Sending Mary away on a pretext, Hester listens as Cordelia, pale but composed, declares that her mother killed Mrs. Green—finally breaking her silence to seek Hester's help.