Mary Lavelle Part IV

Mary and Juan go off for a day togehter and Don Pablo finds a postcard that Juan gave to Mary as a souvenir, but which she lost. He realises that there is something going on between his son and the beautiful Irish girl. He worries about his son and has come to love Mary. Juan and Mary find a secluded spot and make love, her first time. She tells him that she is going to go to London and find a job. He tells her he will see her again but she's not sure if this is the end of their romance. Meanwhile Don Pablo, who has heart trouble is fretting at home and forgets his pills, and he has a heart attack. Juan comes home to find his father dying, and Mary returns to Ireland. Both of them feel guilty that perhaps he knew of their love and it upset him.... and that he tried to stay alive to see Juan. The novel ends ambivalently, with only one happy couple, Pedro a Spanish shopkeeper and Rosie, Mary's Irish governess friend, who have defied the social conventions and married.