Briony is unhappy on the day of the performance of her play, The Trials of Arabella, since her cast is not ready. The night before, Jackson wet the bed and was forced to wash his bedding and pajamas by hand, not as a punishment but as an unconscious reminder that there are unpleasant consequences for such behavior. It took so long that the boy was unable to join the morning rehearsal, and his brother was so concerned for his twin that he was worthless and ill-prepared. While Lola showed up and knew her lines, her air of superiority made it seem like the rehearsal was meaningless to her. Meanwhile, Danny Hardman, whose father works on the grounds, positioned himself in the doorway and was such a distraction he had to be asked to leave.

Alone in the nursery, Briony ponders whether or not the rest of the world is as unique as she is. If they are, she “could drown in irrelevance.” And if they are not, then she is surrounded by automatons and machines. Both options displease her, just as the rehearsals have offended her sense of order. She no longer has control of her words and their meanings, her rightful role as the show's centerpiece has been stolen by Lola, and the weather is extremely hot. Upon reflection, Briony thinks the proper tribute to her brother’s homecoming—as well as the proper tribute to her own accomplishments—would have been to hand Leon a story she had penned and watch him read it in front of her. It seems so obvious, but now it is too late.

As she stretches and looks out the nursery window, Briony sees her sister and Robbie Turner near the fountain. From his stance, thirteen-year-old Briony assumes Robbie is proposing marriage to her sister, and she is not in the least surprised. In fact, in Briony's romanticized world, it makes perfect sense for the son of a servant to marry the lord of the manor’s daughter. As Briony watches, though, she sees Cecilia strip to her underwear at Robbie’s command and then proceed to climb into the pond. Briony feels shame for her sister, and the events she witnesses do not seem to fit a logical order of any kind. The entire scene now seems threatening. It might be easy for her to think this scene had been staged just for her benefit; however, she is aware that what she saw has nothing to do with her. Tempted to go to Cecilia’s room and demand an explanation, Briony instead stays where she is and thinks about how she could write the scene she just witnessed from three alternative points of view. She could cast the scene from the point of view of an amoral observer (herself) of the display of her sister’s near-nakedness without condemnation; the scene could also be reshaped and retold by the two primary characters.

This is not the time for such writing, however, for her current project must be completed. This new project can wait until she is once again free.