Dr. Grogan, a friend of Ernestina’s aunt, has dinner with Charles, Ernestina, and Mrs. Tranter. Afterward, Dr. Grogan invites Charles to his home for a drink. While there, Charles recognizes the doctor’s open mind and intellectual curiosity, so he introduces the topic of Sarah. Dr. Grogan has been to visit Sarah and diagnoses her as suffering from melancholy. The more the two men talk, the less Charles understands Sarah’s condition. Dr. Grogan has concluded that Sarah is all but obsessed with her sadness and refuses to let it go. No matter what anyone would subscribe for her depression, Sarah would probably refuse help.

After a while, Charles changes the topic to scientific theories they share, particularly the theories of evolution as espoused by Darwin. In the mid-1800s, the theory of evolution is very controversial. Only a minority of scientists embraces the theory, so Charles is pleased to find that Dr. Grogan is open-minded enough to talk about it. By the end of the evening, Charles feels intellectually inspired. However, he is still completely confused about Sarah; he does not know what it is that he might do to help her or why she has singled him out for the task.

The time comes for Charles to meet Sarah in the woods. She is waiting for him. She watches him approach and leads him to place more concealed, where no one will walk past them. They seat themselves upon rocks. After many minutes of silence, Sarah begins her story.

She refers to the French lieutenant by name, Vargueness. He was severely injured when they found him. His skin was torn from his hip and down his leg. Sarah was impressed by Vargueness’s ability to never complain. He was strong and alluring. They conversed in French; she admits that she might have misunderstood things he said to her. But by the time he was healed, he had lured her into believing he cared for her.

When he left, he asked Sarah to sail back to France with him. He informed her that he would be staying at an inn and she should come to him within the week. At first Sarah refused to go, but her life was consumed with loneliness. She had recently lost her father to mental illness. She had also lost all her family possessions because her father went bankrupt. She worked for a couple that was in love and had two lovely children. She says that being a governess was very difficult for her because it was as if she were witness to marital bliss but not a part of it. She felt that she would always be alone. This made her especially vulnerable to Vargueness’s charms. He made her feel loved.

For several days, Sarah refused to meet Vargueness. But in the end she could not hold out any longer. She concluded that this could be the only opportunity for marriage she would ever receive. However, as soon as she met with Vargueness at the inn, she sensed that something was wrong. Vargueness did not seem to be the same person he had been while he was healing. She sensed his insincerity immediately. But this did not change her mind; she decided that she did not want to return to her old life. So she gave herself to him—as she tells Charles, she wed herself to shame. If she could not be respectfully married, she would mark herself in some other way, the only way she thought she could. She welcomed being called the French lieutenant’s whore rather than a lonely spinster.

Charles does not completely understand Sarah, though he feels empathy for her suffering. Sarah emphasizes that because he is not a woman, there is no way for Charles to fully comprehend the pressures she felt. He cannot completely take in why she welcomed the social stigma she has embraced.