Lady Audley's Secret: Vol. 2 Ch 9 - Vol. 3

I was one of the last to sign up for a blog post, and I wasn't sure how I'd like doing a post on Lady Audley when I wrote my name down, but after reading this installment, I'm glad I did! These chapters contained a number of intense, suspenseful moments that were quite entertaining to read. 

The reading starts with Robert conducting more investigation into the matter of Helen Talboys' disappearance, which concludes with Robert determining that he has collected enough evidence to prove that Lady Audley and Helen are indeed one and the same—that is—at least enough evidence to finally confront Lady Audley face to face with plain language. No more letters or warnings. The gloves are coming off!

Robert's visit to Audley Court and Lady Audley's conversation with Sir Audley are probably my favorite parts of this section.

He arrives at Audley Court  and quickly finds a place where he can talk to Lady Audley alone.  The confrontation that follows is quite intense and loaded with tension. Lady Audley denies the accusation, obviously, but Robert made a very compelling case, compelling enough to convince Lady Audley that he was a real threat. Later on, in private, we see Lady Audley say something along the lines of, "if he were standing right here, I'd kill him."

Of course, Lady Audley can't allow Robert to reveal her secret, and there's a long section of conversation between Lady Audley and Sir Audley in which she tries to bias Sir Audley against Robert. 

I found it quite amusing how obvious her acting was, (although of course it would look obvious to the reader) and unfortunate that Sir Audley—blinded by his love for Lady Audley—began to believe her, because at first, Sir Audley came to the defense of Robert. He said that perhaps Robert wasn't the brightest of fellows, but surely he wasn't mad. But by the end of the conversation, Lady Audley's tears had at least convinced him to reconsider. 

It will be interesting to see to what lengths Lady Audley will go to to protect her secret. Will she follow through on her promise? Will she kill him? Will Robert bring her to justice? I guess we'll have to find out!