Leonard Bast is first met by the Schlegels when he follows Helen home from a concert, to retrieve the umbrella that she took by mistake. They invite him to tea but he only stays a few minutes and rushes off. Something about him intrigues them, especially Helen. Margaret gives him her card, which he keeps as a bookmark.When he appears, he is employed as a clerk at the Porphyrion, an insurance company, living in severe poverty with his lover, Jacky, whom he intends to marry once he reaches age 21. His family do not approve of Jacky and will not consent to a marriage. He is loyal to her but she seems to feel most of the passion in this relationship. She is obviously older and more experienced than Leonard but quite dependent on him emotionally as well as financially.Leonard seems content as a clerk but is quite the reader and also very dreamy, wondering about things like pulsars and wanting to relive novels like The Ordeal of Richard Feverell, in which a man walks all night out of London. Leonard does this on a spring night and his wife (apparently she and Leonard have married), after finding Margaret's card, appears at the Schlegels', assuming he is there. When told he is not, she storms off angrily.Leonard feels ashamed of his wife's rudeness and calls upon the Schegels to apologize and explain. They are amazed and pleased by his tale of walking straight out of London . Though they find him odd, Helen in particular is drawn to him and Margaret tells Henry and Evie Wilcox, who barge in during tea, causing Leonard to leave, that she sees something special in Leonard; he seems to want something better than what he has .Leonard is nearly forgotten by everyone except Helen, who wants Henry Wilcox to hire him for more money and help him out of poverty. Henry informs Helen and Margaret that the Porphyrian is insufficiently re-insured and may smash , that Leonard should get a new job while he is still employed. He tells them that this is the way of the world and that he has no positions for Leonard.Margaret seems to give up but Helen will not. She tells Leonard, who does leave his job and gets another one at a reduced salary. Though she seems to grow angry, Leonard appears to accept his lot and also seems too physically or psychologically tired to fight the system. Some time later, after Henry's wife dies and he has proposed to Margaret, Helen gets a letter from Leonard, saying that he left the Porphyrion, but is making less money at his new position. Helen is furious and confronts both Margaret and Henry at her aunt's house in Dorset, where they are vacationing. She blames them and herself for ruining Leonard and condemning him and his wife to starvation. To add insult to injury, Henry jauntily says that the Porphyrion is now safe as houses .Henry is unimpressed and tells Helen that she may feel sorry for the poor but that is all . He tells Margaret not to let Helen take a sentimental attitude toward the poor. Margaret sides with her husband, though she agrees that they do owe some help to the Basts.Later on, Helen meets Leonard, who says he has been sacked, along with all the new employees at his job. Helen is furious at Henry for his bad advice about the Porphyrion.We never see or hear much of them until Henry's daughter's wedding at one of his country houses. Helen shows up with the Basts, shouting and babbling about how she found them starving! . Margaret tells her to take them to a local inn and she will try to get Henry to help. She succeeds but he tells her not to make a habit of it.When she goes outside, she tells Helen to leave Jacky to find something to eat, while they go get a room at the Inn. Later, she finds Mrs. Bast at the reception, eating cake and getting drunk on champagne. Charles Wilcox, Henry's snobbish son, also accosts Jacky and asks if she is with the bride or groom. Getting no answer, he storms off. Henry shows up and sees Jacky. He remembers her from an affair they had ten years earlier, in Cyprus. He runs off in shame and as Margaret follows, asking what is going on, he accuses her of plotting with the Basts and releases her from their engagement.Leonard comes to Jacky's rescue; she is crying and blathering about the good times she and 'Enry had. He escorts her away and yells at some guests who stare, What do you think you're lookin' at? . He, Jacky and Helen leave the grounds and return to the Inn.Margaret tentatively approaches Henry, who tries to put her off, but finally admits to the affair and says he is flawed, like any man. She forgives him and suggests that they put the whole thing behind them. But he forces Margaret to write a letter to Helen at the inn, instructing her to get rid of the Basts and come to his house.At the Inn, Helen reads the letter to a dejected Leonard. She says that she knows Henry made Margaret write this and we see she has no intention of following Henry's instructions. She and Leonard go out on the river in a skiff as Jacky sadly watches from her window.As Helen rants about Henry's snobbery and classism, Leonard merely sighs. He seems beaten and when she asks how she can help, he asks her to row with him. I'm tired, he says softly. This is the second suggestion that there is something physically wrong with him. They talk more softly and Helen strokes his face, saying, Everything's got spoilt for you, hasn't it? He embraces and kisses her and they let the skiff drift into a backwater under the trees, where they make love.After this, both Leonard and Jacky seem to disappear and are not spoken of. Helen says she will go abroad and instructs Tibby to give the Basts Show less «