The novel now jumps ahead almost two years. The scene involves Sam and Mary, who are now married and have one child and another on the way. They are living in a rental house in London, and Sam is working for Ernestina’s father, Mr. Freeman. Sam still dreams of owning his own business, but Mary insists that he wait.

Sam had appealed to Mrs. Tranter immediately after he quit his job with Charles. He played on Mrs. Tranter’s good nature and willingness to help people in trouble. Eventually Sam revealed (though he pretended to be reluctant at first) Sarah’s name in association with Charles’s having broken his engagement to Ernestina. This endeared him somewhat to Mr. Freeman, who shortly afterward offered Sam a job. Mr. Freeman discovered that Sam gained some polished habits from spending so much time under Charles’s influence: he dresses sharply, is well mannered, and deals appropriately and kindly with the store’s customers. Furthermore, Sam possesses a natural flourish when it comes to window dressing. His displays at the front of Mr. Freeman’s store attract many new customers. For this, Sam is well paid. His salary has steadily risen, which more than pleases Mary.

Charles, in the meantime, has spent his time traveling all over Europe. His travels do not offer much relief from his depression. Although he does not feel as suicidal as some of the poetry he reads, he is often lost in melancholy. He has hired detectives to continue to look for Sarah but with no success.

The one aspect of being outside of England that suits Charles the most is that the foreign languages and cultures provide women who do not resemble Sarah. He sometimes feels attracted to women, but not once does he imagine that he sees Sarah in the French, German, or Italian women he meets. This provides distraction for his loneliness and sadness, but it never completely alleviates the pain he still suffers from Sarah’s desertion.

He searches for freedom, but it is a freedom enshrouded in despair. However, when he thinks back to the choice he made, he knows it was the right choice even though he suffers. If he had married Ernestina, his life would have been much worse.

One time, while in Paris, Charles meets a gentleman from Philadelphia. He spends much time with this American man, who offers an intelligent comparison of the English and American ways of life. As Charles listens to this man, he wonders if a trip to the United States might help him see a different expression of freedom. So without much delay, he ventures across the Atlantic and begins his exploration of the independent colonies.

Charles enjoys his stay in America. The people are definitely much less confined by cultural constraints. People speak their minds without fear of reprisal. The women are bolder, too. The American woman most remind Charles of Sarah, to the point that he often mistakes strangers to be Sarah; he attempts to catch up with her and then has to apologize when he realizes his mistake. He travels from Boston to Philadelphia and from Washington, D.C., to Charleston, South Carolina. He enjoys all the nuanced differences in speech and manners in the northern and southern states. When he arrives in New Orleans, he is happily surprised by a telegram that announces that Sarah has been located. He immediately purchases a ticket for the earliest departure of the next ship to England.