Lord Tony’s Wife · Chapter
III: The Assembly Rooms explained
At a grand ball in Bath's Assembly Rooms, the arrival of Sir Percy Blakeney and his wife Marguerite revitalizes the evening.
What happens
At a grand ball in Bath's Assembly Rooms, the arrival of Sir Percy Blakeney and his wife Marguerite revitalizes the evening. Amidst the fashionable crowd, French émigrés carry the weight of revolutionary terror. Lord Tony Dewhurst secretly meets Yvonne de Kernogan, and they plan to marry against her father's wishes, with the Blakeneys' support. Meanwhile, the duc de Kernogan, anxious about his daughter's suitor Martin-Roget's absence, is drawn away to play cards with the Prince, allowing the young lovers to meet.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Tony and Yvonne's secret marriage plan involves defying her father and risking family disapproval for love.
Class Conflict and Revolution
The émigrés' somber presence contrasts with the gaiety of English high society, highlighting the upheaval in France.
Deception and Disguise
The young lovers and their allies conspire to hide their meeting from Yvonne's father.
Characters to notice
- Yvonne de Kernogan
Meets secretly with Lord Tony in a recess; agrees to marry him despite her father's opposition.
- Lord Tony Dewhurst
Anxiously proposes elopement to Yvonne; expresses deep love and admiration for Sir Percy Blakeney.
- Sir Percy Blakeney
Arrives late to the ball, holding the bank at cards; seen as a foppish but influential figure.
- Marguerite Blakeney
Radiant and beautiful; assists the young lovers by engaging Yvonne's father in conversation.
- Martin-Roget
Notably absent from the ball; the duc de Kernogan expects him to watch over Yvonne.
- Grace the Duke
Flirts with Sir Percy, chiding him for his late arrival.
Key passages
“very much married, shan't we? … and nothing can come between us, dear heart, can it?” he queried with a look of intense anxiety on his young face. “Nothing,” she replied.”
Tony asks Yvonne if anything can separate them after they marry, and she reassures him that nothing will.
Tony's anxious hope and Yvonne's firm commitment to their secret marriage.
“The shelter and security which hospitable England had extended to them, had not altogether removed from their hearts the awful sense of terror and of gloom.”
Even though England gave the French refugees safety, they still felt deep fear and sadness.
Describes the lingering trauma of the émigrés despite their physical safety.