Chapters 16, 17 and 18 Summary

In Chapter 16, Marnham and Maria get out of bed and, preparing themselves for a confrontation, turn on the bedroom light. When nothing happens, they look in the wardrobe and discover Otto, drunk and unconscious, lying on its floor. Marnham and Maria go into the living room where Marnham tries to figure out what to do and Maria berates him for not being angrier about the situation. They have a short and sharp argument, which is suddenly ended when Maria's skirt accidentally catches on fire from a still-smoldering cigarette. Marnham rips it off her, tosses it to the floor, and stamps out the fire, all the while thinking he should instead be comforting her. As soon as the fire is out, he starts to do so, but then he and Maria both become aware that Otto is conscious and is watching them...