A Bride of a Summer’s Day · Chapter
XIV explained
Lord Culvers and Clive return from their interview with the Prefect of Police, exhausted and dispirited.
What happens
Lord Culvers and Clive return from their interview with the Prefect of Police, exhausted and dispirited. The Prefect has taken detailed notes on Ida's disappearance and the recovery of her brooch, focusing on Sefton Culvers's past and present. Clive goes to the café to meet the organ-boy, but the boy does not appear, and the detective on duty expects no show. Later, Clive returns to the hotel to find Lord Culvers asleep and a mysterious note on the writing table, written in fresh ink, claiming a dying penitent at No. 11, Rue Corot has a story to tell.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Mystery
The chapter deepens the mystery surrounding Ida's disappearance, with the Prefect's cautious handling and the mysterious note left for Lord Culvers.
Family Dynamics and Stepmother Conflict
Lord Culvers's weariness and the strain on the family are evident as they grapple with the crisis.
Characters to notice
- Clive Redway
Accompanies Lord Culvers to the police, waits at the café for the organ-boy, and discovers the mysterious note.
- Lord Culvers
Wearied and dispirited, he agrees to return to England and falls asleep in the hotel room.
- Captain Sefton Culvers
Subject of the Prefect's questioning; his past and present are scrutinized, and his reaction to the advertisement is noted.
- Ida Culvers
Her disappearance and the recovery of her brooch are central to the police interview.
Key passages
“Wearied and dispirited, Lord Culvers leaned his head upon his hand. “It’s altogether too much, Clive,” he said. “I’m not a young man. I feel all to pieces. Life is a little too hard for me just now.””
Lord Culvers, exhausted and discouraged, tells Clive that the situation is overwhelming and that he feels too old to cope with it.
Highlights Lord Culvers's physical and emotional strain.
“He thought he would take a turn in the Champs Élysées and see if the fresh air would clear his brain and put some fresh ideas into it. Ideas, however, are among the many things for which the demand does not create the supply.”
Clive hopes a walk in the Champs Élysées will help him think, but he finds that fresh ideas do not come just because he needs them.
Reflects Clive's frustration and mental exhaustion.
“A poor penitent, lying at the point of death at No. 11, Rue Corot, has a story to tell that may interest Lord Culvers.”
A dying person who seeks forgiveness has information that could be important to Lord Culvers, and is located at a specific address.
Introduces a new lead in the mystery.