Summary

Eliza and Lister write to each other throughout the holidays. Back at school, they discover the pig giving birth – which surprises them, because they thought that the pig was male.

Lister reads in a newspaper about the arrest and impending execution of a group of men, for homosexual acts. This disturbs Eliza and Lister, who decide to sanctify and distinguish their love for each other by means of a religious ritual. In the empty church, they kneel to recite the marriage vows, and exchange rings.

Jane informs Eliza that she is leaving school to live with their well-connected cousin, in hopes of picking up a husband. The next morning, during sex, Eliza looks in the mirror in time to see Mercy disappearing from the doorway. At breakfast, they learn that a young pupil had died overnight, and...