# Captain Prodder Goes Back to Doncaster explained — Aurora Floyd > Chapter companion for Aurora Floyd by M. E. Braddon. ## What happens Samuel Prodder, haunted by the murder at Mellish Park and his niece Aurora's involvement, returns to Doncaster to learn the inquest's outcome. At the Crooked Rabbit inn, he overhears Matthew Harrison, the dog-fancier, describe a woman with flashing black eyes who hated James Conyers—details that mirror Aurora's own fury. Prodder also encounters Stephen Hargraves, who possesses a note from Aurora to Conyers, threatening to reveal it. Prodder confronts Hargraves, but the 'Softy' maliciously hints that some of the information would be stale news to John Mellish. ## Themes in this chapter ### Secrecy and Scandal Prodder is consumed by fear that his knowledge of Aurora's angry confrontation with Conyers will be exposed, while Hargraves holds a damning note that threatens to unravel the secret. ### Jealousy and Betrayal Harrison's description of a woman who hated Conyers echoes Aurora's own fury, and Hargraves's possession of her note suggests potential betrayal of her trust. ### Fate and Agency Prodder feels trapped by circumstances, unable to escape the impending revelation of Aurora's role, while Hargraves actively chooses to wield the note as a weapon. ## Character check-ins ### Samuel Prodder Returns to Doncaster, tormented by fear of being forced to testify about Aurora's angry scene with Conyers. He seeks news of the inquest and confronts Stephen Hargraves about the incriminating note. ### Aurora Floyd Referenced indirectly through Prodder's memories and Harrison's description of a woman with flashing black eyes who hated Conyers, mirroring Aurora's own passionate fury. ### James Conyers The murdered man; discussed by Harrison and the landlord. Harrison recounts a woman who despised Conyers, and Hargraves possesses a note from Aurora to Conyers. ### Stephen Hargraves Appears at the Crooked Rabbit, carrying a note from Aurora to Conyers. He shows it to Prodder and threatens to reveal its contents, hinting that some of it would be stale news to John Mellish. ### Matthew Harrison The dog-fancier and Aurora's pensioner; he describes a woman with flashing black eyes who hated Conyers, unwittingly alarming Prodder with the resemblance to Aurora. ### John Mellish Referenced by Hargraves, who implies that some of the information about Aurora's note would be stale news to him. ## Key lines > He would be called upon to declare at what hour he had entered the wood, whom he had met there, what he had seen and heard there. They would extort from him that which he would have died rather than tell. Prodder dreads being forced to testify about the details of his visit to the wood and the scene he witnessed between Aurora and Conyers. _Highlights Prodder's internal conflict and fear of betraying his niece._ > I've seen her look at him, as if she'd wither him up from off the ground he trod upon, with that contempt she felt for him. Harrison describes a woman who looked at Conyers with such intense contempt that it seemed she could destroy him. _Mirrors Aurora's own angry demeanor and deepens Prodder's unease._ > There's some of it that'll be stale news to him, anyhow. Hargraves hints that part of what he knows about Aurora's note will already be known to John Mellish. _Suggests that John may already be aware of some aspects of Aurora's secret._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aurora_floyd_se/chapters/xxxiii-captain-prodder-goes-back-to-doncaster - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aurora_floyd_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aurora_floyd_se/chapters