Alderman Horbeam, who tried to take the business from Amos, is now in cahoots with Will Riddick, who has become the new squire after his father died, and they are both horrible men. When Hornbeam learns about the Socratic society, he uses the milkman, who owes him money, to spy on Spade and the others. As a consequence, he discovers that the society has decided to print some liberal leaflets. So he sends Will, the sheriff and the constable to the printer, Jeremiah Hiscock. They don't find the printed leaflets, but they find one between the pages of his bible. As a punishment, the man is given fifty lashes, and he ends up more dead than alive.
Spade is suspicious that Nash, the milkman, is a spy and he sets a trap for him, and he falls into it. So some men give Nash a beating. Hornbeam and Riddick are not happy about their thwarted attempts to ruin the society. So Hornbeam thinks that the best way is to use violence, so Riddick hires some of his drinking friends to start a brawl in the next meeting of the society, and that is what happens. Jarge and some others are arrested, but the ones that started the brawl are allowed to go free. Alderman Drinkwater is the leading justice, and even though everybody is found guilty, Drinkwater is quite lenient, ruling that the defendants must stay in the stocks for one day. Hornbeam is angry, so he and Riddick decide to ride to see Earl Nortwood. His son, the viscount, is there as well, which Hornbeam knows won't help his cause, but he has to leave. And the Earl finally agrees to remove Drinkwater as the main justice in Kingsbridge.
As for love in the novel, Spade and the bishop's wife are attracted to each other, and even though they have only shared a kiss, it is obvious that they won't stop there. Amos is still in love with Jane, but she has dropped his friend Rupe and wants Viscount Northwood even though everybody knows that Northwood is unofficially engaged to his cousin, Miranda. Amos still longs for Jane and doesn't seem to realise that there is someone who loves him. Elsie, the bishop's daughter, who runs the Sunday school with him, loves him, but she knows he doesn't share her feelings. Now her father has a new aide, Keneln MacKintosh, and it is obvious that he wants to marry her. Keneln is not someone easy to like, but I think Elsie is considering him. After all, her own mother didn't marry for love.
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