The chapter opens with a conversation between Aramis and his mother. Aramis tells his mother that his father told him that his mother's daughter, norway, was in charge of the project to reconstruct the district and that she forced the people to move earlier than they had agreed on, and that the company had to pay for the damage done to the people's reputations. The conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door, and Aramis apologizes to his mother for causing her trouble. He tells her that he and her husband have solved the problem on their own and that they do not work together in the company to reduce conflict.