A Damsel in Distress guide

Summary

Characters

• MarshmoretonGuardianFrom Chapter 1
• PercyAlso BelpherGatekeeperFrom Chapter 1
• CarolineAlso ByngGatekeeperFrom Chapter 1
• MaudLoveFrom Chapter 1
• ReggieAlso ByngSuitorFrom Chapter 1
• AlbertChildFrom Chapter 1
• KeggsHelperFrom Chapter 1
• AliceAlso FaradaySuitorFrom Chapter 1
• GeoffreyRivalFrom Chapter 1
• GeorgeAlso BevanLeadFrom Chapter 2
• MacHelperFrom Chapter 2
• BillieAlso DoreHelperFrom Chapter 2
• Spenser GrayAlso GraySuitorFrom Chapter 2
• Mrs. PlattOtherFrom Chapter 10
• PlummerSuitorFrom Chapter 13
• Rev. Cyril FergusonAlso Mr. Ferguson, the curateOtherFrom Chapter 15
• Lady Catherine DusebyOtherFrom Chapter 22
• Mr. Willoughby juniorOtherFrom Chapter 26

Chapter by chapter

Storylines

• Caroline presses Marshmoreton to attend to family affairs and his history while he remains absorbed in gardening and tries to postpone the work.

  • Marshmoreton again tries to postpone historical work for gardening, but Caroline makes him submit to reviewing Alice's notes immediately.
  • Caroline continues pressing the family history, but Marshmoreton welcomes Alice's departure, rejects another secretary of her kind and chooses Billie himself.

• Caroline seeks to marry Maud to Reggie, pressing Reggie to court her and seeking Marshmoreton's help. Reggie has not proposed, considers the scheme off, and cannot take the proposed afternoon drive.

  • Reggie reports that he loves another woman and that Maud will consider no other suitor, relieving him of pressure to court her.
  • Reggie has become engaged to Alice and intends to marry her secretly, directly obstructing Caroline's intended match with Maud.
  • Reggie's marriage to Alice makes Caroline's proposed marriage between him and Maud impossible.
  • Reggie's marriage to Alice makes Caroline's proposed marriage between him and Maud impossible.

• Maud loves Geoffrey, the American she met in Wales. Although she has supposedly overcome the attachment, she seeks an opportunity to see him.

  • Maud's attachment persists, and she explicitly defies the family's demand that she relinquish it.
  • Maud remains attached to Geoffrey, feels hurt by his failure to offer help, and regains hope through a way to correspond with him.
  • Geoffrey renews contact and asks Maud to meet him in London; she commits to going there to marry him.
  • Meeting Geoffrey dispels Maud's idealization; she recognizes her former love as infatuation and ends her romantic commitment.

• Caroline restricts Maud's movements because of her romance with a penniless American; Maud intends to evade the restriction despite the consequences of discovery.

  • Maud's evasion encounters Percy's pursuit, but George shields her and enables her escape from the immediate confrontation.
  • Maud evades her brother Percy during her unauthorized journey and leaves for Waterloo; Percy's arrest interrupts his pursuit, though the family restriction remains.
  • Maud admits her forbidden London visit; Caroline imposes confinement, Percy promises surveillance, and Maud remains defiant.
  • Fear of interception prevents an intimate letter, but Maud develops a covert route for correspondence while Percy renews his intention to maintain constant observation.
  • Maud actively defeats the surveillance through Ferguson's intervention and reaches George's cottage, but returns home without meeting George.
  • Geoffrey's inheritance removes his poverty as a basis for opposition, while Maud chooses to evade family control by running away to marry.

• Reggie is attracted to Alice, seeks time alone with her, and feels protective anger when her work for Marshmoreton prevents their outing.

  • Reggie acknowledges his love and his fear that his beloved merely pities him, then adopts a plan to court her with flowers.
  • Reggie obtains time alone with Alice; she develops protective interest and unprecedented solicitude, then invites him onto the terrace.
  • Albert observes Reggie spending time with Alice in a boat and on two car outings.
  • Reggie and Alice are now engaged and have arranged an immediate wedding.
  • Reggie and Alice marry.

• Marshmoreton agrees to work on his historical notes in the library with Alice, who has prepared typed copies, interrupting his gardening.

  • Alice brings the papers for their promised review, and Caroline prevents Marshmoreton from postponing it; completion is not established.
  • Alice leaves her employment and marries Reggie, ending the arrangement for her to supervise Marshmoreton's historical work.

• Reggie resists Caroline's pressure to court Maud and feels hunted by her marriage campaign.

  • Maud's declared attachment gives Reggie grounds to resist Caroline's marriage campaign and brings him relief.
  • Reggie marries Alice and realizes that Caroline has no authority over his independent fortune, relieving his fear of her.

• Reggie plans to meet Percy in town and drive him back; he subsequently agrees to keep Percy there until after dinner to accommodate Maud's secret journey.

  • Reggie brings Percy back to Belpher after Percy's overnight detention; their stay in town has ended.

• After Caroline leaves, Maud and Reggie arrange an immediate journey to London: Reggie will collect her down the road and leave her at Piccadilly, and she will return by an afternoon train. Reggie leaves to fetch the car.

  • Maud and Reggie leave Belpher Castle, and Maud subsequently appears in London and enters George's cab. Her planned return remains unfulfilled.
  • The planned return by train is complicated by the loss of Maud's fare. She nevertheless directs the taxi to Waterloo; her departure by train is not established.
  • Maud has completed the London excursion and returned, though she reports that its purpose went poorly.

• Maud and Reggie conceal her planned London journey to see Geoffrey from Caroline; Reggie knowingly agrees to help and keep the journey secret.

  • Maud agrees to bluff surprise and promises to protect Reggie's assistance. Her London visit becomes known, but his complicity remains concealed.

• Maud seeks to see Geoffrey in London, inferring from Wilbur Raymond's return that Geoffrey has returned with his uncle, despite having had no contact with Geoffrey.

  • Maud reports that her London business went poorly, and confinement with surveillance obstructs another attempt to see Geoffrey.
  • Maud now has direct contact from Geoffrey and an invitation to London, and commits to travelling there to marry.
  • Maud finally meets Geoffrey in London.

• Mac develops warm regard for George and takes a personal interest in his unhappiness.

• George considers leaving show business despite his musical's success.

• George and Billie share disenchantment with theatrical social life; her company temporarily improves his spirits.

  • Billie brings George news of the company and its concerns, shares theatrical gossip, explores the gardens with him, and agrees to convey his love to the company.

• Billie wants to leave show business when circumstances permit and considers marriage to a farmer and rural life.

  • Billie accepts employment at the castle, providing a concrete route out of show business.

• Spenser Gray pursues Billie, who firmly rejects him and regards his pursuit with suspicion.

• George plans to collect money and eat lunch at his hotel, send cables to New York, obtain evening papers and return to the theatre later; his immediate newspaper purchase is prevented by his lack of cash.

  • George reaches his hotel and goes to obtain money, incorporating assistance to Maud into the errand. His remaining plans are not shown completed.

• George recognizes that he wants a partner and a home to relieve his loneliness and boredom.

  • The newlyweds' happiness sharpens George's melancholy over his own lack of a partner.
  • George's desire for a partner gains a definite fulfilment when he and Maud agree to marry.

• George imagines a romance with the unfamiliar girl in brown, later revealed as Maud, but assumes he cannot meet her; she unexpectedly enters his cab and asks for help hiding.

  • George's imagined romance becomes a shared adventure: he believes in love at first sight and actively protects Maud. Her reciprocal romantic interest is not established.
  • George's fascination develops into practical assistance and a commitment to act as Maud's accomplice. Her unexplained departure devastates him, although Percy's arrival makes him grateful she has escaped.
  • George recognizes his deep love for Maud. Her letter renews his optimism, and he actively pursues another meeting despite still lacking her name.
  • George falls in love with Maud, meets her again near the castle, and personally assures her of his willingness to help; she recognizes him, but reciprocal romantic interest is not established.
  • Maud remembers George's intervention with comfort and values his offer of help, but intends to enlist him in maintaining her attachment to Geoffrey.
  • Reggie's mistaken account convinces George that Maud returns his love, transforming his romantic hopes into overwhelming happiness.
  • George's romantic attachment now prompts an intended declaration and a concrete arrangement to meet Maud.
  • George meets Maud privately and is overwhelmed by her beauty and his conviction that she loves him.
  • George discovers that Maud rejects his embrace and loves another man, defeating his expectation of a mutual romance.
  • George recognizes and relinquishes his remaining hope of winning Maud, then painfully helps her pursue marriage to Geoffrey.
  • The romance George once thought inaccessible becomes a mutually confirmed engagement.

• Maud seeks George's help to hide her, entering his cab to enlist his assistance.

  • George grants Maud's request for protection, prevents Percy from entering, and creates the diversion that allows the cab to carry her away.

• Percy pursues Maud and attempts to force access to her cab; George opposes him, develops an immediate dislike of him, and diverts him by knocking away his hat so the cab can escape.

  • Percy renews the pursuit and reveals that Maud is his sister, but George remains her accomplice. The immediate confrontation and pursuit end when Percy punches the constable and is taken into custody; their hostility is not reconciled.
  • Percy's renewed pursuit causes Maud to flee again. He also attempts to strike George; police intervention ends the attack, and Percy is arrested and fined after punching the constable.
  • Percy's pursuit extends to following and confronting George at the Carlton, leading to assault and arrest; the cab encounter also becomes a contested account before the family.
  • Percy detains and questions George on suspicion that he is the Piccadilly antagonist, but accepts his waiter credentials after Keggs corroborates them.
  • Percy becomes convinced that George infiltrated the castle and suspects further meetings with Maud, renewing his determination to keep them apart.

• Maud conceals her home and the reason for Percy's pursuit from George, leaving him committed to helping her without understanding her predicament.

  • Maud's letter explains her departure and how she obtained money. George independently traces her connection to the Marshmoreton family and Belpher Castle, but her name and the underlying reason for Percy's pursuit remain unknown to him.
  • Without learning Maud's actual predicament, George substitutes an exaggerated account of her father's tyranny and becomes more committed to helping her.
  • George learns Maud's father's identity, reducing his ignorance of her family circumstances.
  • Maud explains her attachment, her family's interference and why she entered George's cab.

• George undertakes to collect money at his hotel and lend Maud a sovereign for her journey home and food, but she leaves before he returns.

  • Maud leaves to escape Percy and obtains money by pawning her brooch, making George's proposed loan unnecessary. George learns this from her letter.

• Maud plans to repay George by obtaining his name and address; she learns both, but leaves before receiving the proposed loan.

• George seeks to identify and find Maud, using Percy's identity as Lord Belpher to trace her to the Marshmoreton family and travelling toward Belpher.

  • George leaves Waterloo by train, continuing his journey toward Belpher to find Maud.
  • George reaches Belpher, locates the castle, establishes himself nearby, and succeeds in finding and approaching Maud again, although access to her remains uncertain.
  • George enters Maud's home with the tour and, finding direct access unavailable, commissions two deliveries of his note to her.
  • George meets Maud again in the lane and communicates his wish to help her.

• Percy wrongly identifies George as Maud's American lover from Wales and persuades Caroline; Maud tells them her cab companion was a stranger who sheltered her from Percy.

  • The mistaken identification of George as Maud's beloved extends to Reggie, who passes it to George as fact; George comes to believe it himself.
  • Percy interprets George's presence and Maud's movements as evidence of a continuing clandestine attachment.
  • Maud and George identify the family's confusion between George and Geoffrey; no correction reaches the family.
  • The mistaken identification of George as Maud's beloved now produces a public engagement announcement by her father.

• Percy seeks to make George disclose Maud's whereabouts after following him to the Carlton; his confrontation culminates in striking a policeman and arrest.

• Caroline intends to confine and watch Maud at Belpher Castle until her attachment ends; Percy undertakes to watch her every movement.

  • News of George's note reaches Caroline and Percy, Percy intends constant family observation of Maud, and Caroline secures Marshmoreton's agreement to confront George.
  • Percy personally follows Maud and resolves to wait for her, but Ferguson locks him away, allowing her to reach George's cottage unobserved.
  • Percy's experience of watching Maud undermines his confidence in surveillance, and he turns toward Keggs's proposed alternative.

• George establishes a base near Belpher Castle, renting and occupying a furnished cottage, and prowls nearby to obtain an accidental meeting with Maud.

  • His nearby cottage remains his base, but the tour reveals that the family hides from visitors, prompting him to supplement his search for an accidental meeting with messages through intermediaries.
  • George's local presence yields another meeting, and Maud learns where his cottage is and arranges to send a reply there.
  • George's local activities bring him into contact with Reggie. Although questioning him during golf is frustrated, their subsequent conversation supplies information about the castle's hostility and Maud's supposed attachment.
  • Maud's reply reaches George, and his search for an opportunity to meet her develops into a plan to enter the castle as a waiter.

• George seeks to help Maud urgently, believing from the house-agent's account that Marshmoreton is a tyrant and her home life is miserable.

  • George takes concrete steps to contact Maud, paying two intermediaries and leaving satisfied with his precautions; neither delivery nor any resulting help is yet confirmed.
  • George makes his willingness to help known directly and by note, prompting Maud to arrange a reply.
  • Maud explicitly requests his help, and George arranges access to her so they can meet.
  • George revises his hostile view of Marshmoreton after learning that his opposition arises from fear of family pressure.
  • George learns Maud's actual predicament and undertakes to help her reach Geoffrey despite his own disappointment.

• Reggie undertakes to finish repairing the stalled car so that he and Maud can reach lunch.

• George and Billie mistake Marshmoreton for a gardener. George consequently pays Maud's father to deliver his note and misreads his purple face as pleasure at the payment.

  • The note entrusted to Maud's father brings the approach to her family's attention and leads to his assignment to confront George; no correction of George's mistaken identification is recorded.
  • George's gardener misidentification is explicitly corrected: he learns that the man he paid was Maud's father. No correction of Billie's belief is recorded.
  • Both George and Billie learn that the supposed gardener is Lord Marshmoreton.

• Billie and Marshmoreton form an enthusiastic connection through their shared interest in roses; he receives her address and promises to send her roses.

  • Marshmoreton wants to see Billie again and recovers a means of contacting her through George; her reminder keeps his promise of roses active.
  • Marshmoreton's confidences deepen Billie's affection. Her suspicion of his employment offer is cleared up, and she agrees to accompany him to the castle as his secretary.
  • Their connection culminates in marriage, which Marshmoreton reveals to Caroline and Percy.

• Unable to meet Maud directly during the castle tour, George arranges two attempts to deliver a note: he gives one copy and a sovereign to Marshmoreton, whom he mistakes for a gardener, and a duplicate and half a crown to Albert, who promises immediate delivery.

  • Albert delivers his copy to Maud successfully; Marshmoreton discloses the other attempt to Caroline and Percy.

• Maud includes Albert in her confidence, but her literary interests clash with his enthusiasm for butchery, frustrating her attempts to cultivate him.

• Maud seeks to educate Albert and encourage him to become a poet; his stated ambition to become a butcher obstructs her effort.

• Maud intends to use George as an intermediary for letters to Geoffrey, overcoming her fear that direct correspondence will be intercepted.

  • Maud explicitly requests George's mediation by letter, but Albert destroys the request and conceals its non-delivery.
  • Maud explains her proposed correspondence arrangement, obtains George's agreement and gives him the information needed to contact Geoffrey.
  • Geoffrey's letter establishes direct contact with Maud, superseding the immediate need to use George as a correspondence intermediary.

• Maud arranges for Albert to carry her reply to George's cottage.

  • Albert reaches George at his cottage and announces that he has brought Maud's note.
  • Albert delivers Maud's reply to George, who reads and kisses it.

• Maud seeks to conceal her correspondence with George and explicitly asks Albert to keep it secret.

• At Caroline's insistence, Marshmoreton reluctantly agrees to confront George about his behaviour.

  • Marshmoreton arrives at George's cottage to call on him; the events do not establish whether the intended confrontation occurs.
  • Marshmoreton carries out the promised visit, confronts George about Maud and declares his continuing opposition before leaving.

• George and Reggie form a friendly connection through golf and a visit to George's cottage, agree to play again, and discuss their romantic affairs candidly.

  • Reggie confides his successful courtship and asks George to be best man; George agrees despite his own unhappiness.
  • George helps Reggie manage the marriage announcement and escape the restaurant; Reggie promises to repay his support.

• Reggie shares the mistaken belief that George is Maud's beloved and persuades George that she loves him; George accepts this as confirmation of a mutual attachment.

  • George preserves his mistaken conviction that Maud loves him by explaining away her restrained tone. Albert also believes she loves an American outsider and treats George as the prospect for his ticket.
  • George continues to treat Maud's love for him as established fact.
  • George's belief that Maud loves him is corrected: Reggie and Marshmoreton confused him with her actual beloved.

• Following George's romantic advice, Reggie intends to court the woman he loves with gifts of flowers.

• Maud intends to meet George soon and explain her trouble despite the surveillance.

  • Maud reaches the meeting, sacrificing her dance, but Plummer interrupts before she can explain her trouble and George must hide.
  • Maud overcomes Percy's pursuit and reaches George's door, but hearing her father inside prevents the meeting and sends her back to the castle.
  • Finding her father at George's cottage prevents one visit; Augusta and a cousin separately frustrate two further attempts.
  • Maud reaches the arranged meeting with George, gaining the opportunity to explain her trouble, though no explanation is recorded.
  • Maud explains her situation fully and asks George for the help she intended to seek.

• George intends to declare his love first, interpreting Maud's restrained letter as concealment of her feelings until he speaks.

  • George is initially speechless, then forced onto the balcony before declaring his love.
  • Elated by Maud's arrival and prompted by her clutching his arm in fright, George abandons restraint and embraces her while speaking rapidly; an explicit declaration is not recorded.
  • George makes his love known, but learns that Maud's restraint did not conceal reciprocal feelings.

• George accepts Albert as an increasingly valuable ally in reaching Maud and resolves to preserve his goodwill despite irritation at his behaviour.

  • Albert conducts George to Maud and then devises and supplies the escape that enables him to leave the balcony.
  • The forced ticket exchange reverses Albert's financial interest, turning George's ally into an opponent who supports Reggie.
  • Albert actively obstructs communication with Maud by destroying her letter and fabricating George's response.
  • George learns that Albert now benefits from Reggie's success and accepts that Albert destroyed Maud's letter, undermining Albert's usefulness as an ally.

• The servants' marriage sweepstake gives Keggs a financial interest in Maud marrying Reggie and Albert an opposing interest in her marrying an eligible outsider. Albert believes George can secure his winnings.

  • Keggs uses his discovery of the deception to obtain Albert's outsider ticket in exchange for the Reggie ticket. Their financial interests reverse, and Albert transfers his support from George to Reggie.
  • Albert acts on his financial interest in Reggie by obstructing George and encouraging Reggie's courtship; Reggie's attention to Alice frustrates him, while Keggs's accusation adds personal bitterness.
  • The exchanged tickets give Keggs an interest in George's success and Albert an interest in Reggie's. George learns these interests, and Keggs actively helps him meet Maud.
  • Albert loses his stake through Reggie's marriage, while Keggs counters his interference and promotes George's access to Maud; Albert concedes Keggs's superiority and refuses another wager.

• George will enter the castle at eight as Albert's supposed waiter cousin to meet Maud. Albert will arrange the employment and meeting, and George intends to give him the promised one-pound waiter payment.

  • George enters the castle as a waiter and deflects Reggie's recognition through deception. Albert approaches, but the meeting with Maud and the promised payment have not yet occurred.
  • Albert delivers the promised private meeting with Maud; the promised payment is not recorded.
  • George has met Maud under the temporary waiter disguise and now intends to leave. The cousin cover survives Percy's questioning, though Keggs discovers the scheme. George receives a sovereign for his services; these events do not establish payment of his promised pound to Albert.

• George conceals his identity from Reggie by denying their acquaintance and inventing conversations, convincing Reggie that drink has caused him to hallucinate.

  • Reggie's account still treats his recognition of George in the waiter as a drunken mistake; George's deception remains effective.

• Reggie intends to propose to Alice, drinks for courage and takes her to the secluded gallery, but postpones his declaration because he fears she will attribute it to drink.

  • Following anonymous advice, Reggie proposes sober and Alice accepts.

• Alice interprets Reggie's strange behavior as excessive drinking and sees an opportunity to reform him.

  • Alice's determination to save Reggie from himself helps decide her to marry him, and she accepts his proposal.
  • Alice exercises her reforming influence by limiting Reggie's drinking and vetoing Monte Carlo.

• Plummer seeks to marry Maud, but she refuses his proposal.

  • Despite her earlier rejection, Plummer renews his pursuit after Reggie's marriage and mistakes Maud's distraction for encouragement.

• George seeks to escape the balcony without discovery; Albert supplies a knotted sheet, which George climbs despite injury.

  • George is back inside the castle and preparing to leave, establishing that he has completed the balcony escape; his abrasions are easing.

• Reggie wrongly blames Jack Ferris for his knotted sheet and retaliates by soaking Jack's bed.

• Maud mistakenly believes George jumped from the balcony to avoid compromising her, unaware of Albert's sheet escape.

• Maud develops intense admiration for George through her mistaken belief in his heroic escape.

  • Their immediate estrangement subsides, and Maud's liking grows through George's generosity. His report of minor injuries does not correct her belief about his escape.
  • Thoughts of George comfort Maud, the prospect of losing him distresses her, and she recognizes her feelings as love.

• George preserves his waiter disguise when Percy suspects he is the Piccadilly antagonist; Keggs confirms his credentials to Percy but privately discovers the deception.

  • Reggie's account convinces Percy that George entered the castle disguised as a waiter, undermining the concealment previously supported by Keggs.
  • George discovers that Keggs remembers their encounter at the ball, making Keggs's knowledge of his waiter appearance explicit between them.

• Keggs makes his silence about the false cousin scheme conditional on Albert surrendering the Mr. X sweepstake ticket, securing it in exchange for his Reggie ticket.

  • The exchange is confirmed as completed: Keggs holds George's entry and Albert holds Reggie's.

• Albert commits to supporting Reggie's courtship of Maud after acquiring the Reggie sweepstake ticket.

  • Albert sabotages Maud's communication with George and repeatedly sends Reggie anonymous advice urging persistent courtship, but observes that Reggie prefers Alice.
  • Reggie's marriage to Alice defeats Albert's intended support for a Reggie–Maud match.
  • Reggie's marriage to Alice defeats Albert's effort to profit by supporting a marriage between Reggie and Maud.

• George tries to attract Maud's attention by calling her name.

• Maud enlists Ferguson to remove Percy by presenting her brother as a frightening tramp and withholding her own name.

• Ferguson accepts Maud's false account of Percy and mistakes his claim to be her brother for a drunkard's lie.

• Ferguson undertakes to protect Maud from Percy, confines him in a cupboard and arranges for Willis to release him and oversee his departure.

• Gray has ended his courtship of Sinclair by farewell note, leaving her romantically troubled.

  • Sinclair's broken relationship with Gray develops into a breach-of-promise action supported by an affectionate photograph.

• Gray claims to have gone abroad but remains in London and avoids Billie, who suspects he is concealing something.

  • The legal papers identify Geoffrey as Spenser Gray and expose his romantic involvement with Sinclair to Maud.

• Marshmoreton demands that George abandon Maud and promises continued opposition, chiefly because he fears family pressure and the loss of his peace.

  • Marshmoreton explains his opposition to Billie as fear of family pressure. She learns his position and tells him that George is a wealthy, successful composer, without securing a withdrawal of his opposition.
  • Marshmoreton abandons his opposition and publicly endorses the match by announcing Maud's engagement to George.

• George and Marshmoreton develop mutual liking despite Marshmoreton's declared opposition to George's pursuit of Maud.

• Having lost Billie's identifying paper, Marshmoreton seeks her contact details through George and learns that she can be reached at the Regal Theatre.

  • Marshmoreton reaches Billie at the theatre and meets her for lunch.

• Marshmoreton tentatively intends to visit London and see George's musical.

  • Marshmoreton has visited London and attended George's show.

• Marshmoreton wants to replace Alice with Billie as his secretary after learning of Billie's stenographic experience, but lacks the courage to dismiss Alice.

  • Alice's departure removes the need to dismiss her, and Billie accepts the vacant secretary position.

• Maud invites Percy to accompany her on country walks after presenting herself as frightened by a follower and wishing for his protection.

• Maud entrusts Albert with an explanatory letter asking George to visit Geoffrey in London and mediate their correspondence.

  • Maud conveys her request directly and secures George's promise to visit Geoffrey, achieving the purpose of the intercepted letter without establishing that it was delivered.

• Albert destroys Maud's letter and falsely reports that George sent no answer, concealing his interference and leaving Maud suspecting that George refused her appeal.

  • Keggs infers Albert's destruction of Maud's correspondence and persuades George of it. Albert's interference is exposed to them, though Maud is not recorded learning the truth.
  • Keggs recognizes and confronts Albert's alleged destruction of the letter, although Albert denies it; the interference is no longer concealed from Keggs.

• Keggs offers to restore communication between George and Maud and arranges a meeting in a roadside barn; George waits there and Maud arrives.

  • The arranged barn meeting enables Maud to explain herself and obtain George's help before they part.

• George promises to visit Geoffrey in London tomorrow, report back to Maud and mediate their correspondence; Maud supplies Geoffrey's full name and his uncle's address.

  • George calls at the supplied address but finds the house shut and receives no answer. Geoffrey's direct letter subsequently supersedes the planned mediation.

• Reggie and Alice plan to meet at the Savoy and marry that morning at a nearby registrar's; George agrees to accompany Reggie as best man.

  • The planned morning wedding takes place.
  • Reggie and Alice's planned marriage has taken place.
  • Reggie and Alice have eloped and married.
  • Reggie and Alice marry at the registrar's, with George serving as best man.

• Reggie and Alice conceal their impending wedding because Caroline would oppose it; George is admitted to their confidence.

  • The newlyweds evade Marshmoreton while George stays behind to explain. George then tells him about their marriage; no disclosure to Caroline is recorded.
  • The concealed wedding has occurred, and the servants now discuss the elopement.
  • Their marriage is now known and discussed within the family's social circle.

• An unidentified correspondent has guided Reggie's courtship of Alice through anonymous letters, including the advice that led to his successful proposal.

• Reggie wants to identify his anonymous courtship adviser and thank them with a gift.

• Reggie and Alice will announce their marriage to Caroline by letter, using George's draft, and travel abroad while the family's anger cools.

• Reggie wants to buy back the Siren and cruise the Mediterranean, but its buyer's death may delay the purchase.

• Marshmoreton's renewed discontent with the duties of his title exposes the conflict between his wish for an independent life and his submission to family expectations.

  • Marshmoreton acts against anticipated family resistance, asserting his authority despite Caroline's reaction.
  • Marshmoreton moves from attempting to evade family pressure to defending the engagement and revealing his own marriage to Billie.

• Billie accepts work as Marshmoreton's secretary and will meet him at Waterloo at six; he commits to taking her to the castle despite possible family objections.

  • Billie is present at the castle and presented as Marshmoreton's new secretary.

• Keggs undertakes to secure George's admission to the castle as an invited dinner guest and obtains an invitation, which Albert is instructed to deliver and return with George's answer.

  • George attends the castle dinner as an invited guest.

• Percy begins to treat Keggs as an authoritative adviser on the family's romantic troubles and accepts his counsel.

• Keggs proposes admitting George to family society so that Maud will discover his supposed unsuitability; Percy inclines toward this indirect means of opposing the attachment and commits to discussing it with his father.

  • The dinner wins George admiration instead of exposing his supposed unsuitability, and Marshmoreton announces the engagement.
  • Marshmoreton publicly endorses the engagement and resolves to defend it, opposing the intended use of family society to separate Maud and George.

• Plummer renews his pursuit of Maud, expecting Reggie's marriage to make her receptive to him.

• Plummer wrongly believes Maud rejected him because she loved Reggie and interprets her distracted sweetness as renewed interest in himself.

• Billie's supposed history as a society woman forced to work after her father's death circulates among the guests; George judges it fabricated.

• Millie's admiration for George's music becomes personal enthusiasm and public advocacy, winning him support among the dinner guests.

• Marshmoreton publicly declares Maud engaged to George without an established agreement between them, placing them in the position of an acknowledged couple and shocking Caroline and Percy.

  • The announcement leaves George and Maud publicly acknowledged as engaged. Maud recognizes its painful consequences but avoids seeking a retraction; they pursue her marriage to Geoffrey as another solution.
  • The announcement provokes Caroline and Percy's concerted opposition, while Marshmoreton commits to defending the engagement.
  • The published engagement reaches Geoffrey. Maud initially starts to correct it, then deliberately leaves it uncorrected after realizing she loves George.
  • Maud invokes the published engagement, and their proposal and acceptance supply the mutual agreement missing from Marshmoreton's announcement.

• Maud commits to running away and marrying Geoffrey in London after George urges this solution and explains that a registrar's wedding can be arranged quickly.

  • Maud abandons the plan to marry Geoffrey, ends her commitment and leaves him after discovering his involvement with Sinclair.
  • The plan to marry Geoffrey is definitively abandoned: Maud tells George she has changed her mind and agrees to marry him.

• George and Maud explicitly affirm an enduring friendship despite his pain at helping her marry Geoffrey; Maud takes comfort in the prospect that George's work will sustain him.

  • Maud's understanding of her bond with George develops beyond friendship into acknowledged love; George's response remains unknown.
  • Their affirmed friendship develops into acknowledged romantic love and an agreement to marry.

• George intends to leave his cottage, return to London tomorrow, stay briefly at the Carlton, then sail to America and work on two pieces.

• Caroline and Percy undertake to confront Marshmoreton and break off Maud's attachment to George.

• Percy feels betrayed by Marshmoreton's endorsement of the engagement after his efforts to prevent the attachment.

• Caroline resents Billie's intervention, while Marshmoreton's revelation of their marriage brings his own socially unequal union into the family dispute.

• Marshmoreton and Billie have married.

• Maud realizes that she loves George and that her attachment to Geoffrey was infatuation.

  • Maud acts on her recognition that she loves George, communicates her rejection of her former choice, and accepts George's proposal.

• Yvonne Sinclair brings a ten-thousand-pound breach-of-promise action against Geoffrey, who has used the name Spenser Gray.

• Geoffrey seeks to explain his involvement with Sinclair and preserve his relationship with Maud, pursuing her after she ends it.

  • Maud confirms that she has abandoned Geoffrey and commits to marrying George, obstructing Geoffrey's attempt to preserve their relationship.

• Maud intends to have a photograph taken specially for George's den.

• George intends to see Maud immediately after their engagement is mutually confirmed; she tells him she is alone downstairs at the Carlton.

Places

Belpher Castle, Belpher village, London, Wales, Belpher, Oxford, Piccadilly, Belgrave Square, Little Gooch Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Regal Theatre, New York, America, Broadway, In and Out Club, Haymarket, Vine Street Police Station, Waterloo station, Vine Street Station, Hyde Park Corner, Bow Street Police Court, Rose garden, Marshmoreton Arms, Blue Boar, Hayling Island, Belpher Creek, Baltimore, Brighton, The balcony, The scullery, Little Weeting, The Three Pigeons, The next village, Paris, Riviera, Monte Carlo, Bordighera, Mentone, Mediterranean, Canada, Manchester, Ye Cosy Nooke, Bond Street, Nice, Toulon, Lyme Regis, Carlton hotel, Florida