When Rosedale Comes Calling — The House of Mirth

Autumn drags at Mrs. Peniston's house, but Lily's mood lifts whenever she spends the money Gus Trenor's investments supposedly provide. She has always seen cash arrive and vanish quickly, and she does not imagine the risks of living on funds she did not earn. For a few months she enjoys showing herself in public without obvious signs of borrowed clothes.

A meeting with her charitable friend Gerty Farish leads Lily to donate to working girls' causes. The gift makes her feel virtuous and smooths her guilt about the Trenor arrangement. She tells herself generosity proves she remains a good person inside the compromise.

She accepts Thanksgiving week with the socially rising Welly Brys in the Adirondacks, people she once snubbed but now needs for visibility. Mountain air and parties restore her confidence until Simon Rosedale appears at tea. He hints that he knows how close she is to Trenor and that gossip is linking their names.

Lily deflects with charm, but the visit leaves her shaken. The money she treated as freedom is becoming evidence against her. Rosedale's interest is not romantic only; he is pricing access. The chapter ends with Lily still performing ease while sensing the trap closing.