Lord Tony’s Wife · Chapter
The Coast of France explained
Yvonne Dewhurst spends a miserable day on the ship taking her away from England and her husband Tony.
What happens
Yvonne Dewhurst spends a miserable day on the ship taking her away from England and her husband Tony. Her father, the duc de Kernogan, is remorseful for his actions. Martin-Roget taunts them with his hatred and tales of Carrier's noyades, revealing his true identity as Pierre Adet and his motive of revenge for his father's hanging. Yvonne and her father find solace in each other below deck.
Themes in this chapter
Revenge and Betrayal
Martin-Roget's entire monologue is driven by his desire for revenge against the duc de Kernogan for hanging his father, and he betrays the trust placed in him.
Suffering and Endurance
Yvonne and her father endure physical and emotional suffering on the voyage, finding solace in each other's arms.
Class Conflict and Revolution
Martin-Roget's speech highlights the revolutionary class hatred and his sense of power over the former aristocrats.
Characters to notice
- Yvonne de Kernogan
Spends the day in despair on deck, thinking of her husband and the mysterious friend (the Scarlet Pimpernel). Later comforts her father below deck.
- Martin-Roget
Reveals his true identity as Pierre Adet and his vengeful motives. Taunts Yvonne and the duc with tales of Carrier's noyades and his plan to dishonor them.
- Lord Tony Dewhurst
Mentioned as Yvonne's beloved husband from whom she has been torn.
- Sir Percy Blakeney
Referenced as the mysterious friend who knows everything and foresees danger; Yvonne hopes he will help.
- Jean Baptiste Carrier
Mentioned as the Proconsul who has suspended navigation of the Loire for his nefarious noyades.
Key passages
“This could not be the end—it could not. So much happiness, such pure love, such perfect companionship as she had had with the young husband whom she idolised could not all be wrenched from her like that, without previous foreboding and without some warning from Fate.”
Yvonne cannot believe that her perfect marriage and happiness have ended so abruptly and without warning.
Yvonne's internal despair and disbelief at her separation from Tony.
“My father was hanged by yours as a malefactor—hanged, I say, like a common thief!”
Martin-Roget reveals that the duc de Kernogan had his father executed by hanging.
Martin-Roget's motive for revenge is explained.
“You have sown shame, shame shall you reap! and the name of which you are so proud will be dragged in the mire until it has become a byword in the land for all that is despicable and base.”
Martin-Roget vows to dishonor the duc's name and legacy as revenge for his father's shameful death.
Martin-Roget's threat to destroy the Kernogan family honor.