The next day, Mr. Pyke and Mr. Pluck pay a call to her. They tell her that they are friends of Mulberrry Hawk. The praise the virtues of Mulberry Hawk and “accidentally” reveal that he loves Miss Nickleby.
They tell Mrs. Nickleby that Mulberry Hawk has asked them to call on her to make sure she was well. He also sent them to extend an invitation to her to come to a play that night. Mrs. Nickleby is reluctant, but they tell her that her brother-in-law will be there.
They go on to tell her that Mulberry Hawk is enslaved to her daughter. They see Kate’s portrait on the mantel of the fireplace, which is the same one done by Miss La Creevy. They start kissing it.
Mrs. Nickleby is pleased that Mulberry Hawk loves her daughter. She wishes she could confide in someone. She thinks of Miss La Creevy, but now that Kate might marry Mulberry Hawk, she is too lowly in status to be a companion to Mrs. Nickleby. She satisfies herself in dropping hints to her servant girl, who is impressed.
A private coach picks her up that evening. Mr. Pyke and Mr. Pluck greet her at the theater and escort her to her box. Sir Mulberry and Lord Verisopht join her. Ralph Nickleby is not there.
They recognize Kate in the next box, who has came with the Witterlys. Kate pales at the sight of the gentlemen, which her mother believes is a sign of passionate love. Mrs. Nickleby goes to the Witterlys’ box with the gentlemen in tow. Kate is forced to spend the evening in Mulberry Hawk’s company.
Mulberry Hawk tries to keep Kate from leaving at the end of the night. She tells him that she detests him. He thinks she is beautiful when she is angry.
Mrs. Witterly is unnerved by Kate bursting into tears as she enters the carriage.
Mulberry Hawk is pleased that his scheme worked. He has discovered where Kate is.