In a letter to Molly, Flora describes the shock of finding Mrs. Mead dead on the conservatory floor shortly after the stormy hunt. Police arrive, question the men, and learn that John Preston fired a shot into the air while Algernon Braun first denies, then hesitantly admits he might have fired earlier. Two identical rifles are recovered, each missing one bullet, but the rain erases evidence of whose gun fired the fatal shot.

Back at the manor, officers ask why Mrs. Mead ran into the storm; no one can explain. Flora later realizes a key person was absent from questioning. In the days that follow, police focus on John, probing for motive or history of violence, which Uncle Willy refutes. Flora grieves deeply, while her parents, Magnus and Audrey Gray, and the Brauns push to return to normal, showing little compassion.

At Mrs. Mead’s crowded chapel funeral, townspeople testify to her lifetime of service. John delivers a moving eulogy, praising Margaret Mead’s generosity and moral courage, and pointedly glances at the Grays. Flora longs to comfort John but is restrained by Algernon and Audrey; later, she meets John in the conservatory, and they share an intimate moment of mutual support before he returns to Uncle Willy.

After the service, Penelope struggles to serve in Mrs. Mead’s absence. In the kitchen, she confides to Flora that Mrs. Mead had tried to warn both of them about “him.” Penelope reveals that in the basement laundry on the day of the hunt, Algernon came in, ordered her to face away, assaulted and threatened her (“Squeal and you’ll pay”), and she then told Mrs. Mead everything.

Penelope discloses prior work at a baron’s estate where thefts led to mass dismissals and recalls seeing Algernon alone in the art wing there, suggesting a link to past wrongdoing. She says Mrs. Mead, furious, vowed that her brother and nephew would not let this happen again, then ran out—the last time Penelope saw her alive. At the funeral, Algernon later warned Penelope with a chilling metaphor: quiet deer do not get shot; noisy ones do.

Flora’s disillusionment with the Brauns crystallizes. She understands that Mrs. Mead ran to confront or seek help against Algernon’s abuse and that the Brauns intend to shield him. Determined to stop the cover-up and refuse complicity, Flora tells Penelope that Algernon will not get away with it and declares her engagement over.