Silas's nose is put out of joint by the visit of cousin Cosmo, who thrills Ned with his stories of foreign travel and charms Mrs. Betts by flirting with her. Seeking attention, he agrees to pose for Hermione, a sculptress, but she ends up revealing more than she should of herself, which causes trouble with her boyfriend.

Silas takes his boar to mate with the sow belonging to the village bobby. Unfortunately Silas himself gets rather too matey with Connie, the policeman's ample wife, and Ned has to help him avert a scandal.

Silas gets work helping with the harvest at the farm owned by Pamela Farrell. He takes pity on Shandy Lil, the put-upon serving girl at the farm, and plays Cupid between her and Pikey, an equally shy young thresher. His efforts to demonstrate the act of courtship to Pikey go awry when they are misconstrued by Pamela who sets her cap at Silas.

When Silas challenges the wirier Goffy Windsor to a five-mile race around the local countryside, Uncle George takes bets on the result and Silas is sure of victory. However, after suffering a series of ailments Silas realizes that he will have to cheat and, literally, take short cuts to win.

Georgina and Abel have their first child, making Silas a proud grandfather. One of the guests at the christening is Georgina's friend Ellen, a professional cook, who knows the way to a man's heart and finds Silas as irresistible as most of the women he encounters.