Lady Audley's Secret

While visiting Audley Court, Robert describes George’s continuing grief over his wife’s death, as well as his own fears that George might do something rash. Lady Audley finds his surprising, as she had imagined that a man could easily replace one wife with another, but Robert insists that that is not George’s nature.

During dinner, Sir Michael says that he is happy to see his wife in good spirits, as she had been disappointed the previous day when they had been unable to locate her old schoolmistress.

Later, Lady Audley plays a melancholic sonata by Beethoven on the piano, and Robert observes that it seems contrary to her upbeat nature. Sir Michael notices that she has bruised her wrist, and she says that it is from winding a ribbon around her arm too tightly. On closer inspection, the bruise is made up of what look like finger marks. Though Lady Audley’s story is plausible, Robert is skeptical.

When Robert returns to the inn, he resolves to find George. His determination suggests that, were he ever to take on a brief, he might prove more capable than his fellow magistrates imagine.