Shewing Who the Amiable Lady, and Her Unamiable Maid, Were
- Of course, the lady is Sophia, and the maid is Mrs. Honour. (A shocking twist, we know.)
- Sophia is thinking of Tom when Mrs. Honour bursts through the door and says that Tom is here, at this very inn.
- Mrs. Honour goes back out and asks to see Tom, but Partridge refuses to wake him.
- Unfortunately, Partridge seems to think that Mrs. Honour wants to sleep with Tom.
- He tells her frankly that Tom is already in bed with a woman.
- Mrs. Honour is so furious that she goes back to Sophia and tells her everything.
- Sophia thinks there must be some mistake.
- Susan the chambermaid comes to Sophia's room with a drink she ordered.
- Sophia keeps paying Susan money until she agrees to slip into Tom's room to see if he's alone in bed.
- Of course, Tom isn't alone in bed, and Susan tells Sophia as much.
- Susan also passes on all of the things Partridge said about Sophia in the kitchen earlier.
- Apparently, he's been spreading around the rumor that Sophia is dying of love for Tom, and that Tom has run away to war to escape from her. (Ouch.)
- After dropping this bombshell, Susan leaves the room.
- Sophia tells Mrs. Honour that she now accepts that Tom is "a low despicable wretch" (10.5.9).
- Sophia is furious, and wants to make sure that Tom knows that she was there.
- So Sophia bribes Susan to leave her muff where Tom will see it. (See "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" for more on Sophia's famous muff.)
- And then Sophia and Mrs. Honour ride off.