As Charles travels back to Lyme, he considers Sarah’s letter. He wonders why she merely sent the address where she was staying in Exeter and had not signed her name. To Charles, the letter feels more like an invitation to come visit her rather than indicative of feelings of remorse or shame.

When the train arrives in Exeter, Sam asks if they are to spend the night. Sam had expected an affirmative answer. However, Charles tells him that they will not spend the night there but are heading straight for Lyme. Once in the carriage, Charles feels a sadness come over him; he is aware that his actions have ended any further relationship with Sarah. He deems his action moral and socially correct, but his decision makes him feel the full weight of the consequences of marrying Ernestina. He predicts that he will one day be a merchant, a profession he detests. His life will be spent pleasing Ernestina and her father. For this life he has chosen, he feels himself to be weak, throwing himself upon fate as if he were a victim.

When they arrive in Lyme, Charles quickly makes his way to Mrs. Tranter’s house. Ernestina has given her aunt strict orders not to keep Charles delayed with any private conversations. Her aunt obeys, and soon Charles is alone with Ernestina. The couple enjoys a lively and flirtatious banter. Then Charles confesses his involvement with Sarah.

The narrator interrupts the chapter to tell his readers that the story has come to an end. He quickly sums up what happens to the major characters. Sarah quietly disappears and never again enters Charles’s life. Charles and Ernestina get married; although they are not completely happy, they have seven children. Charles’s uncle not only marries but produces a set of twins as his heirs. Charles goes into business with his own sons, who eventually bequeath the business to his grandchildren. Finally, the narrator tells that Mrs. Poulteney eventually dies and attempts to enter heaven. The gatekeeper, however, does not allow her in. Of course, the story does not end here. The narrator says this is a possible ending, one Charles conjured in making up a possible future for himself as the train brought him from London to Exeter.

What really happens is that when Sam asks if they will spend the night in Exeter, Charles answers yes. There is a chance of rain, so Charles decides they will stay the night and go home to Lyme the next day. This makes Sam suspicious. Instead of staying at the hotel Charles has chosen, Sam takes the luggage there and leaves immediately afterward to wait for his master to appear at the inn where Sarah is staying.

In a short time, Charles is there. He inquires about Sarah at the front desk and is told that Sarah has suffered a fall and has a sprained ankle. She cannot descend the stairs, so if Charles wants to visit her, he will have to go to her room. On the pretense of making a business call, Charles goes to Sarah’s room. He finds her with her foot propped on a stool. At the sight of him, Sarah sheds tears. She tells him that she worried she would never see him again. There is little time lost between her statement and their kissing. Shortly afterward, they are in bed.