Meaulnes wakes up early the following morning, dressed in an old-fashioned black suit, and steps out into a remarkably mild, spring-like winter day. As he wanders around the quiet, mysterious estate, admiring the overgrown garden and the distant blue hills, he heads toward the main building and gets breakfast served by a peasant woman. Afterward, he explores the waterfront where reeds stretch endlessly and water laps against the walls of abandoned rooms.
While walking along the sandy shore, Meaulnes spots two women approaching, one very old and the other a tall, slender blonde. Struck by her simple attire and pure, innocent gaze, he soon finds himself joining them as they head toward the docks for a morning boat ride. Seated on the same yacht, Meaulnes and the young woman exchange quiet, lingering glances across the water while the boat glides silently through the landscape.
Upon landing near a pine forest, the guests scatter through the woods. Meaulnes impulsively approaches the young woman and tells her she is beautiful, causing her to walk away quickly down a transverse path. Distressed by his own clumsiness, he wanders aimlessly until he encounters her again in a narrow trail. After apologizing for his earlier remark, they speak more gently, and she finally reveals her name to be Mademoiselle Yvonne de Galais before hurrying off to join the children.
Later, after a hasty cold lunch at the deserted house of Frantz, Meaulnes approaches Mademoiselle de Galais again and they converse warmly. When he asks for permission to return to the domain one day, she agrees and promises she will wait for him. However, as they near the landing stage, she insists they board separate boats and tells him not to follow her. The day concludes with a lively pony race on the sloping meadow behind the farm, though Frantz fails to arrive, leaving the guests to return indoors in uneasy silence.