A Room with a View

Cecil leads Lucy and Mrs. Honeychurch along the path to visit Mrs. Butterworth. He is already annoyed at having to pay another "tiresome" (143) social visit, so he acts rudely. Lucy must interject to make amends, hinting at the dynamics of their future marriage. At the very least, she is pleased to notice these faults in Cecil before they are married. After, Mrs. Honeychurch criticizes Cecil's behavior. Lucy excuses her fiancé, claiming that he has high expectations for people. Mrs. Honeychurch dismisses this notion as "rubbish" (143). She also notes that Cecil is rude toward her and Freddy. He even comments rudely about the family's furniture. Lucy has nothing to say. She cannot defend her fiancé.

When Freddy arrives, he suggests that the Emersons visit the following week for a game of tennis. Despite Lucy's best efforts, Freddy settles on the plan. At dinner, he mentions his new friend George and wants to know more about him. He asks Lucy, knowing that she has met George before. Lucy offers only vague answers, as she does not want to lie.

Mrs. Honeychurch adds to Freddy's plans, suggesting that they invite Charlotte to Windy Corner. She knows that Charlotte's boiler is broken and that she must wait for it to be repaired by plumbers, so suggests that Charlotte stay with the Honeychurch family. Lucy tries to change her mother's mind, confessing that she does not "like Charlotte" (149). Cecil also does not approve. However, Mrs. Honeychurch's mind is made up. She calls the dissenting pair unkind; Freddy insists that Charlotte means well. Lucy, however, cannot stop thinking about her experiences in Florence.

Lucy knows that she will meet George soon. She tries to prepare herself ahead of his arrival at Windy Corner, remembering when she saw him hiding in the bushes near the Sacred Lake. She remembers her desire to be near him. Despite the intensity of her feelings, the "obvious" (152) idea that she might love George does not cross her mind. Mr. Beebe mentions that George seems happier than his old self. His previous melancholy has eased, as though he is "waking up" (152) at last.

Charlotte's trip to Windy Corner is blighted by setbacks. After she alights at the wrong station, she is forced to take a cab to her final destination. Freddy rides with her. When he pays for the fare, she insists that she will repay him. She searches for change with Lucy. This gives her an opportunity to ask her most pressing questions to Lucy regarding George. She wants to know whether Cecil knows about the secret kiss. Lucy reminds Charlotte of the promise she made: She has told no one about the kiss. She is also not concerned, as anyone who did know about the kiss would already have mentioned it. Lucy does not believe that George loves her; she insists that he was gripped by a moment of impulsive passion.

As she continues the conversation, Lucy insists that George and his father are fine additions to the local community. She no longer wants to talk about the "silly Italian business" (156). Despite her insistence, her memories of Italy keep rising up in her mind.

On a "glorious" (158) Sunday, Lucy attends church with her mother, Charlotte, and Minnie Beebe. After the service, she and her mother spot George and his father. They talk, with Mr. Emerson mentioning his regret at having seemingly stolen the cottage away from the Miss Alans. He insists that he had no idea about the "misunderstanding" (161).

Charlotte refuses to engage with the Emersons, walking right by them and into the waiting carriage. She offers only a cursory bow to acknowledge their presence, adopting the same snobbish persona as she did during "the old, old battle of the room with the view" (163) in the Pension Bertolini. George is embarrassed; he knows that Lucy remembers the kiss. Lucy, however, is pleased by George’s reaction, which humanizes him. She also notes that this almost certainly means that Mr. Emerson does not know about the kiss. She is even more confident that Cecil will never find out.

That afternoon, George comes to Windy Corner to play tennis with Freddy. He is a good player and beats everyone else. Cecil, however, chooses not to play. He would rather read a book. He reads aloud in a derisive, mocking tone. The novel, Under a Loggia, is set in Italy and, as Lucy quickly realizes, was written by Miss Lavish. Her initial excitement at knowing the author fades, however, as Cecil reads a section of the novel in which two young people kiss in a secluded spot, "carpeted by violets" (170). She is embarrassed and turns red, hiding her face from Cecil. However, she catches George's eye as Cecil narrates a particularly romantic passage. Lucy suggests that the group go for tea. They walk toward the house and, while she and George are passing behind shrubbery, he kisses her "for the second time" (171).