Dorothea thinks about ways to prove that Lydgate's "conduct has not been guilty" (1045). Farebrother admits that he could envision Lydgate "accepting money" (1046) to not repeat scandalous rumors but he cannot imagine the doctor doing anything worse. Dorothea defends Lydgate's character, though Farebrother reminds her that people can change. Chettam advises Dorothea to "really keep back" (1048) and not get involved.

Lydgate regrets ever coming to Middlemarch. His professional ambitions are unrealized, his reputation is ruined, and his marriage has been an "unmitigated calamity" (1050). Increasingly, he suspects that Bulstrode deliberately did not follow his orders not to mix opium and alcohol. Then, he wonders whether the loan clouded his judgment. In the "uneasy corner of Lydgate's consciousness" (1053), he wonders whether the money prevented him from recognizing the suspicious nature of the death of Raffles. However, he still trusts Bulstrode and assures himself that he would happily consign himself to "beggary" (1055) rather than have people believe that he accepted a bribe.

Mrs. Bulstrode notices how differently she is treated by her friends. Only when she speaks to her brother does she begin to realize why they are treating her with "pity" (1061) and awkward avoidance of certain topics.