Kit is beside himself with grief, fearing that all his friends and family believe the accusations and have abandoned him. He remembers Nell and the pleasant nights he spent with her. He worries she’ll hear of this and wonders what she would think.
The turnkey of the jail explains the rules to him. He tells Kit that he is kept apart from the regular prison population because he isn’t considered irreclaimable yet.
The next day, the turnkey takes Kit to see his visitors: his mother, brothers, and Barbara’s mother. They all sob, and Kit starts crying too. The turnkey tells them that their time is limited, and they should put it to better use than crying.
Kit is relieved when his mother doesn’t believe the accusations. He tells her he can bear this better knowing that. The mother asks the turnkey if she can give Kit food that she has brought him. The turnkey hands it over to Kit, and Kit eats it—though he is not very hungry. His mother tells him that Mr. Abel was the one that broke the news to her, though he didn’t reveal his opinion on Kit’s guilt.
Another turnkey comes to escort Kit back to his cell after visiting hours are over. Another officer comes up and hands Kit a beer, saying it is from a friend of his. The friend has instructed that Kit should have a beer every day. Kit reads the letter that came with the beer and learns it is from Richard Swiveller.