Dr. Urbino is once again exasperated by his wifeÂ’s simple incomprehension. He tells her he is infuriated not by what he was or did but that he had lied for so long. Fermina Daza tells him Jeremiah did the right thing. No one would have loved him as they did if he had told the truth. She finishes dressing him and wipes his tears away. ItÂ’s eleven oÂ’clock and time to go.

The luncheon has been arranged by Aminta Dechamps, Dr. Lacides OlivellaÂ’s wife, and her seven daughters so that it will be the social event of the season. Their home is in the center of the historic district. It is a converted old mint, which a Florentine architect had renovated along with many other seventeenth-century relics. The house is huge, but not big enough for the many guests, so the luncheon is served in the country house. There are 122 guests. The family had begun preparations three months earlier. Senora Olivella had anticipated everything except the fact that she had chosen the date as a June Sunday when the rains are late. She realizes her mistake that morning when she goes to Mass and sees the low clouds on the horizon. When the guests are having their first drink, thunder crashed and tables are blown over. "The sky collapsed in a catastrophic downpour."

In the storm, Dr. Urbino and other guests have trouble reaching the house. He has to be carried by Don SanchoÂ’s men up to the house. The Olivellas try to set up tables inside, even in bedrooms, but it is terribly hot inside the house. The seating arrangements had been precise and according to custom, but the cards had gotten out of order so people sat where they could. In the midst of it all, Aminta de Olivella holds up her duties as host despite her wet hair and mud spattered dress. She tries to keep the places at the head table in order, with Dr. Urbino in the center and Archbishop Obdulio y Rey on his right. Fermina Daza sits beside her husband to make sure he doesnÂ’t fall asleep. Dr. Lacides Olivella sits across from him. It is a black tie affair, and only the most sophisticated like Dr. Urbino, wear their ordinary clothes.

The rain stops and the sun begins to shine. Several trees have been uprooted and the patio is a swamp. The kitchen has the worst problems with the rain. They had set up their fires outside and had only just enough time to get their pots inside and reorganize in the kitchen. The Sisters of St. Clare are supposed to be bringing the dessert, but the bridge might be down. They open the windows and the cool breezes come in. The band begins to play and people have to shout to hear each other above the banging of the pots inside the house. Finally, Aminta orders luncheon to be served. The band is instructed to play their concert, but it is not easily heard over the waiters who have to squeeze among the tables to serve the meal. Dr. Urbino, however, manages to concentrate well enough to hear the entire concert.

As he strains to hear it, he sees a blushing boy nodding his way. He canÂ’t place where he has seen him. Then he remembers the boy had been one of his students last year. He is the son of the Minister of Health. He never realizes that it is this medical student who had been with him that morning in Jeremiah de Saint-AmourÂ’s house. He is comforted in this small triumph over the memory loss of old age. He listens to the last piece the orchestra plays and doesnÂ’t know what it is. He is told later by the cellist that it is a quartet by Gabriel Faure, of whom the doctor has never heard. Fermina Daza, who is always alert to his Moods, especially when he gets introspective in public, "put her earthly hand on his" and says, "DonÂ’t think of it anymore." Then he starts to think about what she fears he will think about. He thinks of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour lying in his coffin in his fake military uniform and fake medals. He tells the Archbishop about the suicide, but he has heard the news already. He had even received a request that he be buried on holy ground. He asks why he had died and Dr. Urbino says "Gerontophobia" fear of aging. Dr. Olivella says it is a pity to find a suicide that is not for love. Dr. Urbino says, "And worse yet, with gold cyanide."

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