Jackson and Pierrot run away

The flight of Jackson and Pierrot Quincey from the Tallis house on the evening of 1 June 1935 is the event that unravels the carefully ordered household and creates the conditions for the novel's central catastrophe. The twins, nine-year-old ginger-haired boys who are nearly indistinguishable except that Pierrot is missing a triangle of flesh from his left earlobe, have been miserable since their arrival from the north as refugees from their parents' bitter divorce. Their desperation, expressed in a note left at the dinner table, precipitates a chaotic search that leaves Lola Quincey alone and vulnerable by the lake, where she is assaulted by Paul Marshall, and gives Briony Tallis the opportunity to make the accusation that sends Robbie Turner to prison.

The Note and the Decision to Flee

The twins' departure is announced by a letter they leave on Jackson's seat at the dinner table. The note, written in a child's hand on a scrap of lined paper, reads: "We are gong to run away becase Lola and Betty are horid to us and we want to go home. Sory we took some frute And there was'nt a play." Each boy signs his first name with a zigzag flourish. The grievances are specific: they feel persecuted by their sister Lola and by Betty, the Tallises' formidable cook, and they are disappointed that Briony's play, The Trials of Arabella, has been abandoned. The note is discovered by Briony, who picks it up from Jackson's seat and holds it up, crying "A letter!" When Emily Tallis reads it aloud at the table, Lola stands up, murmuring "Oh hell, oh hell" repeatedly, and then runs from the room, saying "Mummy will kill me." The twins have already slipped away from the table, having asked to be excused to go to the lavatory, and they exit the dining room with exaggerated, almost satirical, care.

The Search and Its Consequences

The discovery of the note throws the dinner party into disarray. Leon Tallis immediately organizes search parties, saying, "They've only been gone a few minutes." Paul Marshall volunteers, and Cecilia and Leon go together, while Briony sets off alone around the side of the house. Robbie Turner, who had been hoping to steal time alone with Cecilia after their passionate encounter in the library, is the last to leave the dining room and the last to adjust to the new situation. He feels cheated, believing the night had been reserved for him and Cecilia. He decides to search alone, a decision he later acknowledges "transformed his life." The search parties fan out across the grounds, calling the boys' names. It is during this search that Lola, who has gone to the island temple, is assaulted by Paul Marshall. Briony, searching on her own, comes upon the scene and, in the darkness, identifies the retreating figure as Robbie Turner, an accusation she will maintain with increasing certainty despite her own doubts.

The Return and the Arrest

The twins are not found by the search parties. Instead, Robbie Turner, who has been walking the grounds alone, discovers them. He returns to the house at dawn, carrying Pierrot on his shoulders and holding Jackson's hand. The boy on his shoulders appears to be asleep, and the other boy lets his head loll against Robbie's waist, drawing the man's hand across his chest for protection or warmth. The waiting group—family, police, and servants—assembled on the front steps, sees Robbie emerge from the mist like a giant. Betty, a Catholic, crosses herself. The senior inspector approaches, and Robbie stops, seeming about to speak. He lifts the boy clear of his head and places him gently on the ground. Briony, watching from her bedroom window, experiences a flash of outrage, believing this show of kindness is a cynical attempt to conceal his crime. Despite the twins' safe return, the accusation against Robbie has already been made, and the police are waiting. Robbie is arrested and handcuffed, and the twins are taken inside. The flight of the Quincey twins, which began as a childish act of desperation, has provided the cover for a crime and the occasion for a lie that will shape the lives of everyone in the Tallis family for decades to come.