Why were all those people hanging around the carriage?

[clarepayton]

Good question that has come up. Any ideas?

[Melissa_W Moderator]

I thought this was hinted at in the text (I don't have it with me so I can't cite chapter and verse), but I think Letty remembers that she and Mary were discussing elopement in the past and mentioned that in order to "seal the deal" you needed to be SEEN eloping. Doesn't Letty think that Mary might have put Percy Ponsonby and others up to hanging about at midnight to make sure that she would be seen with Geoff and force the marriage (as insurance against unscrupulous beaux who might abandon the lady after she was compromised)?

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clarepayton wrote:
Good question that has come up. Any ideas?

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[politikgirl]

That explanation makes a lot of sense. It's what I was thinking as well, but I like that it's not spelled out for us in the book, so we have some room to speculate about Mary's role - or lack of role - in all of this.

[clarepayton]

I think you are right. I love this kind of detail, don't you? Reminds me of a father with his shotgun, cocking it in the young man's face. Well, it sometimes took some dire actions to get a boy to the altar. No wonder the parents hid their girls under lock and key.