Rivenhall's little sister comes down with a fever that might be typhus. Sophy rises to the occasion, while Charles's betrothed won't come near the place. Charles finds out about Sophy's "saving" of Hubert and admires her. Nice scene in which he does insult her and she cries, then pretends that the tears were fake and called on demand. Other than that, the predictable plot winds its way forward. I think, actually, that the entirely predictable nature of the plot is one of the reasons for the books enduring popularity and its high rating on Goodreads. It's a comfortable read--a cozy romance. All the characters are clear, likable, despicable, irresponsible, solid. Nobody surprises anyone. We, as readers, are like the author. We know where this is going. We watch the characters come out of the darkness into the light, rubbing their eyes. "How foolish--why didn't they see all that earlier." Reader is easily smug.
February 1895 (Alice died in 1892) Money problems, jealousy of Wilde; time spent with Lord Wolseley1; off to Ireland to lick his wounds; Irish unrest--Irish landlords boycott all social events; much time spent with manservant Hammond (homosexual attraction again); fancy dress ball, appalling to James, who is only happy in company of Hammond, though Hammond remains a servant and no more; little girl alone on the grounds--inspiration for Turn of the Screw?; conflict with Webster who alludes to Wilde's successful play and HJ's failure; Wolseley was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army . He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, West Africa, and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency. He served in Burma, the Crimean War , the Indian Mutiny , China, Canada and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign (18...
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