Tender is the Night Book Three, Chapter Nine Summary

  • Around 4pm that day, Dick arrives by cab. He tells Nicole that he was with Rosemary to see if there was anything between them. He found nothing and put her on the train.
  • Nicole tells Dick that she "went dancing" with Tommy, but Dick says he doesn’t want to know the details of their relationship.
  • The phone rings and it is Tommy. She tells him that Dick’s back and Dick wants her to go to Cannes to talk with him.
  • She says they should wait. Tommy tells her that Dick knows it’s over, but she insists she needs to consult him.
  • She feels happy being in control of her life again, and starts imagining that things with Dick really weren’t ever as passionate as she had thought they were. Feeling guilty over the lie, she goes to him.
  • He pushes her away, and they fight. She knows she’s in the power seat though. She has the Baby and the Warren money for support, and Dick was making enemies left and right.
  • She suddenly psychologically frees herself from him. She leaves crying, but not passionately.
  • Dick knows it’s the end, that he’s now a free man.