Book 2: Chapter 10 Summary

Although Selden's advice went unheeded, she was soon on her own again following a scandal involving Mrs. Hatch and Freddy Van Osburgh. She takes a position trimming hats, although she is terrible at it, and is constantly being reprimanded for her poor performance.

Due to her inability to sleep, she has developed an addiction to a sleeping medication, which she purchases with a stolen prescription of Mrs. Hatch's. One day as she is making her illicit purchase, the chemist warns her that the medicine could be lethal if the dosage was increased. She hardly listens, simply relieved to have the small vial in her possession. On her way home from the chemist, she runs into Simon Rosedale, and he invites her to tea. She confesses the past details of her transaction with Gus Trenor, and of her current sordid living conditions...