Determination!
Fran sneaks back into the house, but this time her doing doesn't go unnoticed. Mrs. Kent, who is still sitting in the drawing room with her husband, hears the back door being quietly opened and then closed again shortly afterwards. She goes to the door to check and just manages to see Fran sneaking quietly upstairs. Mrs. Kent immediately draws the right conclusions from her observation. She takes her seat again near the fireplace.
"Miss Fine obviously had met the young Sheffield boy again."
"And what do those worry lines on your forehead try to tell me, my dear?" asks Mr. Kent his wife with a smile.
"Well, to be honest, I was hoping that this strong attraction between the two of them would have faded a little during the time where Miss Fine was in New York. You know how concerned I am about this friendship. We talked about it some time ago. I truly hoped, the subject would eventually go away on its own. But it really does look likes if something serious between them is about to happen, if it hasn't already. Don't forget, he drove her to the airport himself."
"Mhhh, I understand your concerns." Mr. Kent takes a thoughtful drag on his cigar. "And what do you intend to do now?"
"Frankly! I have no idea. I mean, we don't even know how serious their relationship really is. Whether it's just a purely platonic friendship or maybe something more."
"Then you should find out the truth as soon as possible, Regina. Miss Fine trusts you. You two have a good relationship. Try to approach her carefully and find out how she really feels about the young Sheffield. And while you're at it, you could also carefully explain to her what it means to be in a relationship with Maxwell Sheffield."
"Yes, maybe you're right." Mrs Kent agrees with her husband. "And the situation could become even more dramatic."
She tells her husband about the benefit concert at which Maxwell Sheffield was seen with the young daughter of businessman Steward Babcock.
"There are now initial rumors around town that his parents James and Elizabeth Sheffield clearly would want to see an engagement between Maxwell and the young CC Babcock." Now Mr. Kent's brow his furrows.
"Oh dear, that would indeed make the situation dramatically worse. You have talk to Miss Fine urgent. Otherwise the poor thing will slide into an absolute disaster."
Mrs. Kent knows that her husband is right, but she dreads the conversation.
While the Kents discuss the complicated situation in the living room, Fran lies upstairs in her room and sobs into the pillows. Her despair is even bigger this moment than before her meeting with Maxwell. Fran is deeply confused. On the one hand, Maxwell had been as loving and attentive as ever. Alone the effort he put into her gift. Fran tenderly strokes the box of chocolates. But deep inside her there is still this thorn of doubt and uncertainty. Fran wishes she had never seen this article and the picture. She doesn't understand why Maxwell didn't just tell her about this other girl. That could only mean that there was more to this story than he want to admit. And Fran had hoped so much that everything would turn out to be completely innocent.
Fran needs certainty. She decides to finally confront Maxwell with the facts tomorrow at their breakfast date. Today she had given him so many opportunities to come clean on his own. Now she must take matters into her own hands. While Fran is still thinking about the best way to confront Maxwell, something suddenly occurs to her. She realises that she hadn't been completely honest with Maxwell either. After all, she didn't mention anything about Aaron or the advances he had made towards her. And she hadn't told him about the situation on the ride to the airport. Fran realises that if she demands absolute honesty from Maxwell, then she needs to be truthful herself.
Meanwhile Maxwell has also arrived at home. He still wonders about Fran's strange behavior. Why had she been so distant and reserved instead of completely freaking out that they were finally back together? But Maxwell calms himself down. Maybe it really was just the jet lag and tiredness. Before he gets ready for bed, he packs his briefcase for the next day. The newspaper that his mother gave him in the office that afternoon falls into his hand. Since Maxwell is not tired yet, he makes himself comfortable in his armchair and leafs through the newspaper. He also comes across the society section and the report on the benefit concert. When Maxwell glances through the pictures, he sees the picture with him, CC and her father. His expression darkens. Especially when he reads the caption. He is frustrated that they name CC as his date. He knows exactly what enormous rumors such a casual remark may trigger. Annoyed, Maxwell folds up the newspaper.
Later on as he lies in his bed, a terrible thought suddenly strikes him. He knows that if Fran reads the newspaper at all, she is mainly interested on the society section. And he also knows that on airplanes the crew always hands out some newspapers to the passengers. A terrible idea comes over him. Could it be that Fran had already read the article on the plane and that she had seen the picture with the cryptic caption? That would explain her strange behavior. Maxwell mentally goes over his time with Fran again. And he suddenly realizes that although he talked a lot about the concert but he had not mentioned CC or her father with a single word. He suddenly realizes why Fran was so dismissive towards him. He decides to fix the misunderstanding tomorrow on their date.