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In this chapter a man and a woman are walking towards the large village of Weydon-Priors in Upper Wessex in silence. The woman, who is carrying a baby in her arms, occasionally whispers to her child who in turn murmurs something back. We are told that the man and woman are husband and wife and it is this that accounts for the “atmosphere of stale familiarity which the trio carried along with them like a nimbus as they moved down the road”. The fact that there is no interaction between the two is very significant as it helps in the understanding of events later on. As the trio are approaching their destination, they meet a turnip-hoer who engages in a bit of banter with the man. We are told that it is Fair Day at the village. Soon after, t