i
- This is the day of Maud's funeral, and the narrator attends.
- He observes Helen and Achille standing next to Philoctete and wonders why they have all come, especially when they are still mourning Hector.
- The narrator is overcome with admiration at Achille's "charity" in being there, since he cleaned Plunkett's pigpens. He says it is greater than Helen's beauty.
ii
- The narrator admits that he never really got to know Maud, and that he only brought her into the narrative to find a way into the gardening jargon.
- He also mentions that Major Plunkett trained him as a cadet. Hmm…
- It's kind of weird for an author to attend the funeral of a fictional character and the narrator readily admits that here—but hey, he felt responsible for giving her a good send-off.
- He saw her through Plunkett's eyes and realized that she was like his mother, who would also die.
- Now back to the funeral: Achille notes that the bier is draped with Maud's intricate quilt o' birds.
iii
- Major Plunkett acknowledges Achille, Philoctete, and Helen as he passes them with the coffin.
- When the church is empty, Helen approaches Achille and tells him that she is coming back to him.