The Three Horseshoes

Summary

• Nora suddenly finds herself standing outside in a different place, not in Bedford or in the library. The place is calm and quiet, the smell of the countryside fills the air.
• She was standing across the road from a pub, "The Three Horseshoes". There's a chalkboard with a Tuesday night quiz announcement written in her handwriting outside the pub.
• She is dressed differently than she normally does and is wearing her old sapphire engagement ring accompanied by a silver wedding band, hinting that she is married in this life.
• Nora interacts with a few people who seem to know her, confirming that she is living a pub life. She also discovers that she runs the pub with her husband, a man named Dan.
• Nora finds a framed newspaper article stating that she and Dan bought the pub and turned it into a success. This was a dream she and Dan had planned in their past life.
• She experiences some feelings of discomfort while interacting with Dan. The humor Dan uses often seems to hinge on her and she remembers how this trait about him bothered her in the past.
• Nora finds herself in a home with Dan where she learns that they are trying for a baby. Dan implies that he made a mistake in the past, to which Nora responds by asking if they're truly right for each other.

• The chapter starts with Nora addressing Dan about an argument they had two days before their supposed wedding. She suggests he would be a mess without her, even though his drinking problem persists.
• While Nora struggles to disrobe in front of Dan, he dismisses her concerns about his drinking habits, asserting that it's typical for a country landlord like him to consume alcohol profusely.
• Nora confronts Dan about his dreams and how this current life was once something he cherished and desired. She feels he has been unfaithful to her, intoxicated frequently, and only values her in her absence.
• Instead of paying heed to Nora's arguments, Dan appears indifferent and unfazed, engrossed in his phone notifications about wildfires unfolding in California.
• Nora feels like she has shrunk for Dan and finally decides to stand up for herself. She shares the answer to a quiz they discussed earlier - the name for a 20 sided polygon is “icosagon". She regretfully admits that she kept this knowledge from him out of fear of ridicule.
• She abruptly ends the conversation and leaves the room to go to the bathroom, where she finds herself disappearing slowly, feeling like her body is fading away, implying some type of supernatural or psychological event is taking place.
• Upon looking into a mirror, she is shocked at her own reflection: she seems healthier, yet older and alien to herself. She tells her reflection 'Good Luck' before suddenly finding herself back at the Midnight Library.
• The chapter ends with Mrs Elm, a character presumably from the Midnight Library, asking Nora about her recent experience.