chunk: Anvoy's father suffers heavy financial losses and loses most of what he has. He dies, and shortly afterwards Lady Coxon dies. Anvoy, having lost nearly all her wealth, has only the 13,000 pounds from Lady Coxon, with a moral but not legal obligation to give it away. Gravener urges her to keep the money, as it could be used to buy them a house once they are married. She refuses, and their relationship becomes strained. Later, she entertains the idea of giving the money to Saltram, who Gravener despises as a fraud and "not a gentleman." Eventually their engagement is broken off.
  Finally, the unnamed narrator is given a sealed letter and asked to give it to Anvoy. The letter is understood to contain a denunciation of Saltram's most immoral acts. The narrator must decide whether to blight Saltram's prospects by delivering the letter. He is willing to do so if it will save his friend Gravener's engagement with Anvoy, but Gravener is unable to assure him of this.