XLIX: The Heir of the Fairfields explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Inheritance and Legacy

  The birth of a male heir to the Fairfield estate is central, with Harry explicitly renouncing any claim to Wyvern.

• Secrecy and Deception

  Harry hints at a hidden marriage and a 'screw loose' that would make claiming Wyvern dangerous, urging secrecy.

• Mortality and Aging

  Alice's life hangs in the balance after childbirth, and the doctor fears she may not survive.

Characters to notice

• Alice Maybell

  Alice Fairfield is gravely ill after childbirth, lying near death and unable to speak above a whisper.

• Harry Fairfield

  Harry arrives at the Grange, expresses relief that he is not the heir, and pledges support to Alice and the newborn.

• Mildred Tarnley

  Mildred Tarnley writes to Harry announcing the birth and later converses with him about the family's secrets.

• Dulcibella Crane

  Old Dulcibella Crane assists in Alice's care and writes a gentler letter to Harry about the birth.

• Doctor Willett

  Doctor Willett attends Alice during her dangerous illness and stays overnight at the Grange.

• Tom Tarnley

  Tom is sent to fetch the doctor and later to Hatherton for a second physician.

Key passages

• “At dead of night Alice was very ill, and Tom was called up to ride across Cressley Common for the Wykeford doctor.”

  In the middle of the night, Alice's condition worsened, and Tom was sent on horseback to fetch the doctor from Wykeford.

  Establishes the urgency of Alice's illness.

• “Mrs. Tarnley wrote to Harry Fairfield to Wyvern to announce the event, which she did thus:— 'Sir, Master Harey, it has came a sirprise. Missis is this mornin' gev burth to a boy and air; babe is well, but Missis Fairfield low and dangerous.'”

  Mildred Tarnley sent a poorly spelled letter to Harry Fairfield at Wyvern, informing him that Alice had given birth to a son and heir, but that she was in a dangerous condition.

  Highlights the informal communication and the precarious state of Alice.

• “I'd rather be Harry Fairfield at fair and market than archbishop of hell, I can tell ye, havin' no likin' for fine titles and honour, and glory, wi' a tethered leg and a sore heart; better to go your own gait, and eat your mouthful where ye find it, than go in gold wi' a broken back, that's all, and that's truth.”

  Harry declares he prefers his freedom as a common man over the burdens of being the Squire of Wyvern, which he sees as a life of constraint and misery.

  Reveals Harry's rejection of the responsibilities of inheritance.