Miss Briggs happened to be passing the room where the interview between Becky and Sir Pitt was taking place. She heard both his offer of marriage, and Becky's refusal of it. She did not stay long enough, however, to hear the reason for the refusal - that Becky was already married.

Miss Briggs carried the exciting news to Miss Crawley.

Miss Crawley was impressed that Becky had refused the baronet, and secretly relieved. She talked the matter over with Briggs, and the two women agreed that Becky must be in love with someone else.

'Find out who it is,' Miss Crawley ordered her companion.

Becky admitted to Miss Briggs that she was in love with someone else, but she refused to tell Briggs who the man was. She did not tell Miss Crawley either when the old lady interrogated her.

'You will know soon enough, my dear,' she said.

That evening, when she was alone in her bedroom, she wrote a letter.

Dear friend,

Half of our secret is known, and I'm sure that the time has come to tell everything. It's risky, I know, but I'm sure we'll win in the end. Miss Crawley is very sympathetic and generous. I think everything will be all right!

She addressed the letter to 'Miss Elizabeth Styles'. The reader will not perhaps be surprised that Miss Elizabeth Styles, who wore a military uniform, was none other than Captain Rawdon Crawley.

The next morning Becky's bedroom was empty. She had left a note for Briggs, explaining the mystery of her marriage and asking her to break the news to Miss Crawley.

It was bad luck for Becky that Mrs Bute Crawley arrived at the house that morning. Briggs told her the whole story, and they went to Miss Crawley together.

The old lady was horrified at the news, and had another attack of illness.

'I'll never forgive them!' she said. 'And I'll never give Rawdon another penny of my money.'

Sir Pitt also came to the house that morning. He wanted to see Becky.

'She's got to come back to Queen's Crawley with me,' he told Briggs. 'I can't manage without her.'

'But don't you know she's married?' Briggs replied in astonishment.

'What do I care about that?' the baronet said angrily. 'I know she's married.'

'She left the house this morning, sir,' Briggs explained. 'Miss Crawley is very upset by the news of her marriage to Captain Rawdon.'

When Sir Pitt heard that Becky was married to his own son, he broke into a furious rage. Then he left the house very noisily.