Gerty Farish wakes happy, believing Lawrence Selden's attention might finally include her. She even rejoices that he also admires Lily, because sharing joy feels natural to Gerty. When Selden asks to dine with her, she prepares a small feast and lets herself hope that kindness might be turning into love.
Over caramel custard and coffee, Selden's warmth is real but misdirected. He praises Gerty's apartment, then turns every conversation back to Lily. He wants Gerty to confirm Lily's goodness, to explain her choices, to bless his plan to save her. Gerty realizes she was never the romance; she is the confidante, the plate set for someone else's feast.
Meanwhile Selden's mind is full of Lily after the tableau. He writes to meet her at four the next day, convinced he can carry her beyond the ugliness of her world. At his club he brushes off a drink with Gus Trenor, disgusted by the man's flushed face and the gossip linking his name to Lily's. The note in his pocket feels like a rescue mission.
He goes to Carry Fisher's studio, hoping to see Lily, but she has already left. The men trade smirks about her performance and rumors. A young Farish mentions putting Lily in a cab to the Trenors' closed house, and the room reads the story aloud. Walking with Ned Van Alstyne, Selden stops outside the dark Trenors' mansion and sees Lily emerge from the door while Trenor's bulk stays in the lighted hall.
He turns away sick with jealousy and disillusion. Gerty, left with a cousinly kiss that burns like defeat, hates Lily for an hour before Lily herself appears, frozen and broken, begging not to be alone. Gerty shelters her, listens to her speak of shame, and even urges Selden's name as possible rescue while knowing she is handing away her own dream.
The chapter's cruelty is uneven hearts. Selden loves an idea of Lily while judging her world. Gerty loves Selden and sacrifices him to comfort Lily. Lily, desperate, clings to the friend she has unknowingly wounded. Everyone means well; everyone loses something they cannot name out loud.
Coming Up in Chapter 15
Morning forces Lily back into Mrs. Peniston's house to count debts, face her aunt, and wait for Selden at four. Instead she will meet Rosedale, read of Selden's sailing, and discover how fast every door can close.
