Part 2, Chapter 1 Summary

It is now July and Michel and Marceline arrive at La Moriniere where they are met by the old caretaker, Bocage who has managed the estate for many years. Soon after the newlyweds settle in Marceline tells Michel that she is pregnant and Michel feels a new tenderness toward her and spends almost every minute of the day by her side. Eventually Michel begins his academic work again but is soon distracted by the opulence and sensuality of the ripening crops and fruit trees on the estate. Bocage tries to explain the operation of the estate and the tenant farms to Michel who has no real interest in the matters but pretends so as not to offend the old man.

Soon Bocage's eighteen-year-old son, Charles returns from working on an experimental farm and he and Michel become comrades, inspecting the fields...