# XV: May Expostulates explained — Mr. Incoul’s Misadventure

> Chapter companion for Mr. Incoul’s Misadventure by Edgar Saltus.

## What happens

Mr. Incoul, having orchestrated a public accusation, exposes Lenox Leigh as a cheater at baccarat in the Capucines club. Lenox is shunned by all, including May, and is escorted out by De la Dèche. Earlier, Maida makes a tentative romantic overture to Mr. Incoul, but he responds with cold triumph, leaving her uncertain.

## Themes in this chapter

### Revenge and Retribution

Mr. Incoul meticulously executes his revenge by framing Lenox for cheating, humiliating him publicly.

### Deception and Betrayal

The entire baccarat scene is built on deception: Mr. Incoul uses marked cards to betray Lenox, and Lenox feels betrayed by former acquaintances.

### Social Class and Reputation

Lenox's social standing is instantly destroyed as club members shun him, illustrating the fragility of reputation in high society.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Incoul

Deliberately sets a trap for Lenox at the club, using marked cards to publicly accuse him of cheating.

### Lenox Leigh

Deals baccarat when Mr. Incoul exposes the marked cards; he realizes the accusation is a plot for revenge.

### Miss Maida Barhyte

Makes a vulnerable romantic gesture to Mr. Incoul before he leaves for the club, but receives only a cold, triumphant look.

### Mr. Blydenburg

Dines at the Incoul house and accompanies Mr. Incoul to the club, where he identifies Lenox dealing.

### De la Dèche

Awakened by the uproar, he calmly escorts Lenox out of the club and advises him to resign from his clubs.

### Mr. Clarence May

Observes Lenox's disgrace but refuses to defend him, prompting Lenox's angry retort.

## Key lines

> In a vision like to that which is said to visit the last moments of a drowning man, he saw it all: the reason of Maida’s unexplained departure, the coupling of Mirette with a servant, and this supreme reproach made credible by the commonest of tricks, the application of a cataplasm, a new deck of cards on those already in use.

Lenox suddenly understands the entire plot: Maida's sudden departure, the rumor linking Mirette to a servant, and the accusation of cheating, all orchestrated by Mr. Incoul using a simple trick of adding a new deck of cards.

_Lenox realizes Mr. Incoul's revenge scheme in a moment of clarity._

> In the eyes of him whose name she bore and to whom for the first time she had made offer of her love, she had seen no answering affection—merely a look which a man might give who wins a long-contested game of chess.

Maida sees no love in Mr. Incoul's eyes, only the cold satisfaction of winning a strategic game.

_Maida's romantic overture is met with Mr. Incoul's detached triumph._

## Links

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