Miss Matty's house is full of life and bustle. Her dream of having a child in the house has been realised in the birth of Tilly, daughter of her maid Martha and carpenter Jem. Elsewhere, the shadow of the railway still looms, but the line has been halted five miles outside Cranford. As Lady Ludlow waits for her son Septimus to return from Italy, Harry Gregson is sent away to school. Meanwhile, Miss Matty becomes concerned about Peggy Bell who lives in an isolated cottage with her mother and domineering brother, Edward.