Pimpernel and Rosemary · Chapter
XLIV explained
Rosemary waits in a bare room after her meeting with Major Buriecha, feeling a mix of joy and dread.
What happens
Rosemary waits in a bare room after her meeting with Major Buriecha, feeling a mix of joy and dread. She reflects on the escape of Philip and Anna, orchestrated by Peter, and the roles of Elza and Maurus. She avoids thinking about Peter, aware of her loyalty to Jasper, and plans to cross the frontier with Maurus.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Rosemary's joy at the escape of Philip and Anna, and her own sacrifice in staying with Jasper, highlight the theme.
Deception and Betrayal
Peter's secret plans to circumvent Jasper's spying, and Rosemary's exclusion from the truth, underscore the theme.
Characters to notice
- Rosemary Fowkes
Waits in the château, reflects on the escape, and plans her own journey.
- Peter Blakeney
Orchestrated the escape of Philip and Anna; Rosemary avoids thinking of him.
- Philip Imrey
Escaping with Anna across the frontier; Rosemary hopes for their safety.
- Anna Heves
Escaping with Philip; Rosemary thinks of her as a child learning love.
- Elza Imrey
Waiting for Philip and Anna at Hódmezö; patient and heroic.
- Maurus Imrey
Composed when told to leave Kis-Imre; Rosemary hopes to travel with him.
Key passages
“For over half an hour Rosemary waited in that bare, cheerless room, and gazed unseeing out of the window while she tried vainly to coordinate her thoughts.”
Rosemary sat alone in a stark room for more than thirty minutes, staring blankly outside as she struggled to organize her mind.
Highlights Rosemary's emotional turmoil and isolation.
“She would not allow herself to think of Peter—only of Philip and Anna, whom he was taking across the frontier by another clever trick—in disguise, probably—and over the mountain passes.”
She deliberately avoided thoughts of Peter, focusing instead on Philip and Anna, who were being smuggled across the border through a clever ruse, likely in disguise and via mountain trails.
Reveals Rosemary's internal conflict and her admiration for Peter's plan.