Lady Audley's Secret

It is a dreary day in January and Robert has lost all taste for companionship. He feels that there is a dark cloud hanging over Audley Court and wishes that “she” would heed his warnings and run away.

In late February, Alicia writes to tell Robert that Sir Michael is unwell and would be glad of a visit from him. Robert is briefly fearful and wonders if he has done the right thing in tampering with justice.

Lady Audley looks scared to see Robert and tells him that, though Sir Michael is not gravely ill, they have been anxious. Robert says that she must be concerned about Sir Michael’s fate, as “Your happiness, your prosperity, your safety depend alike upon his existence” (185). She looks at him defiantly and says that anyone who strikes her must strike through Sir Michael.

When Sir Michael wakes, he is pleased to see his visitor and hopes that Robert and Lady Audley can get along as aunt and nephew—even though the Lady is young and beautiful. Robert assures him that he is impervious to the Lady’s charms.

Sir Michael is visited by the Lady’s former employer, Mr. Dawson, in his capacity as a doctor. Robert insists on a private conversation with the doctor, telling him that he has reason to think that Lady Audley does not deserve to be called Sir Michael’s wife. The only way to confirm or eradicate his fears is to establish a record of her life. Robert also states that, if Mr. Dawson will not answer his questions, he will be forced to put them to his uncle.

Mr. Dawson tells him that Lucy Graham arrived with a letter of recommendation from a Mrs. Vincent. Robert asks for the woman’s address, and Mr. Dawson says that she lives in Crescent Villas, Brompton. Robert recognizes the address, and realizes that Mrs. Vincent was the schoolteacher that Lady Audley failed to locate.

As Lady Audley is making tea, Robert imagines her as a sorceress. He then observes that Alicia is not looking well, but Alicia asks why it should matter if she is well. Robert says that they should not waste their time squabbling.

Alicia is concerned about Robert’s discussion with Mr. Dawson, but Robert tells her that there is nothing to worry about regarding Sir Michael’s health. Robert then becomes ruminative and Alicia supposes that he is in love. In reality, he is thinking of Clara’s plea for him to find George’s murderer.

At the address in Crescent Villas, Robert speaks to a maid who tells him that Mrs. Vincent had lived there, but she does not know her current location. Robert then quizzes the local baker, who wishes that he did know Mrs. Vincent’s whereabouts, as she owes him money.

As he is walking along the street, he is stopped by a woman who has overheard his previous conversation and gives him an address in Peckham Grove. Reaching the cottage, Robert is met by a maid who tells Robert to write down his name and his reason for visiting.

Mrs. Vincent agrees to see Robert, and they discuss Lucy Graham. Mrs. Vincent knows little of what happened to her after she left her post, and they have not communicated since. Robert then asks if Mrs. Vincent sent the telegraph message reporting her ill health to Lady Audley, and she replies that she has never been seriously ill.

Mrs. Vincent cannot remember when Lucy first came to work for her, or where she came from. She asks another teacher, Miss Tonks, who replies that Lucy arrived in August, but she does not know where she had been prior to that. She observes that Lucy was clever and secretive, saying that she herself never would have employed her. Mrs. Vincent explains that she agreed to take Lucy on despite her lack of references, as Lucy claimed that she had had a difficult upbringing and wanted to be away from everyone she knew. Mrs. Vincent adds that Lucy was a perfect lady and that Miss Tonks should not be so cruel. Miss Tonks, meanwhile, believes that Mrs. Vincent was deceived by Lucy’s charming, ornamental qualities.

Robert asks if Lucy left anything behind, and Miss Tonks fetches a bonnet. While she is away, Robert observes how pitiless women are towards one another and that Miss Tonks relishes the idea that something bad is going to befall Lucy. The bonnet is inside a box and, from one of the labels Robert can see that it has been to Italy. Robert then discovers another label that has been pasted over with another, and he pales. He reflects that, even if his findings are insufficient for a jury, they will be enough to convince his uncle that he has married “a designing and infamous woman” (204).

Since George feels powerless to trace Lucy Graham’s life back any further, he decides to focus on Helen Talboys. He writes to Clara to ask for the name of the town in which George first met Helen and learns that it was Wildernsea.

Upon arriving in Wildernsea, Robert checks into a hotel. Robert asks the landlord if he knows of a Captain Maldon, and the landlord replies that the captain’s daughter was married in the hotel but that her husband abandoned her. He does not know how long Captain Maldon and his daughter remained in Wildernsea but suggests that Mrs. Barkamb, who owns the house in which they lived, would know.

During the night, Robert is plagued by nightmares featuring Lady Audley as a mermaid beckoning Sir Michael to his doom. Looking upon the seaport the next day, he feels that it is the type of place that brings ruin upon those who had been strong.

Sitting in Mrs. Barkamb’s living room, Robert asks for the date of Helen’s departure from Wildernsea. Mrs. Barkamb replies that she left abruptly and that her father had probably squandered her money. Whatever the case, father and daughter had “a very serious misunderstanding one night” (212) and Helen departed.

Mrs. Barkamb does not know the date of Helen’s departure, but says that Captain Maldon wrote her a letter that day, telling her of his distress. Mrs. Barkamb finds the letter, and there is a note inside it from Helen. Robert thinks that the person who had stolen Helen’s love letters from George’s trunk “might have spared themselves the trouble” (213).

In her note, Helen writes that she is weary of her life and wishes to start anew. She asks for her father’s forgiveness and states, “You know the secret which is the key to my life” (213). These lines are written in a hand with which Robert is very familiar, yet he wonders about “the secret.” The letter also specifies the date that Helen left Wildernsea. It transpires that no more than two days elapsed between this letter and Lucy Graham’s arrival in Brompton.

Robert asks if Captain Maldon ever heard from his daughter after she departed, and Mrs. Barkamb says that she believes so, but that she did not have much contact with the captain after his daughter left and he had to move out a few months later because he was unable to pay the rent.

Returning to the train station, Robert sets about his next task: discovering the history of the woman lying in Ventnor churchyard. 

Arriving at his chambers, Robert finds a letter from Alicia stating that her father is better and that Lady Audley keeps asking about Robert’s movements. Robert again wonders why the Lady does not run away.

In Audley, Robert wanders into the local church and runs into Clara. Robert says that he believes he has found one further link in the chain of evidence but does not wish to reveal it yet. Clara states that Robert had previously told her he was going to Wildernsea, and he replies that he did visit the town. He adds that, if Helen died when the papers say she did and if she is buried in Ventnor churchyard, then he has no clue to the mystery of George’s fate. Therefore, he plans to put this to the test.

As Robert leaves, Clara’s friend, Mrs. Martyn, arrives. She tells Clara that Robert is the nephew of Sir Michael Audley, who now has a pretty young wife. As she describes Lady Audley, Clara thinks of a letter that George had once written to her describing his wife. The descriptions are markedly similar.