Philip Herriton Timeline and Summary

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• Philip is accompanying his family to say bon voyage to his sister-in-law Lilia, who is traveling to Italy.
• After Lilia's departure, Philip and his mother and sister are all sitting in the living room, sipping tea and congratulating themselves for sending Lilia abroad.
• It was Philip's idea to send her on a trip in order to prevent her from continuing her flirtations with Mr. Kingcroft.
• Months later, when Mrs. Herriton hears a rumor that Lilia has gotten herself engaged to someone at a hotel, she sends Philip immediately to Italy to bring her back to Sawston.
• Philip has mixed feelings about traveling to Italy: he loves and admires the country and its people, but what if Lilia has gotten mixed up with an Italian? Philip is not so sure that he's ready to have an Italian in the family.
• When he arrives at Monteriano, he is shocked to discover from Miss Abbott that Lilia has fallen for a penniless Italian named Gino Carella, who is the son of a country dentist.
• And more bad news is on the way: Philip learns that he has arrived too late. As soon as they heard Philip was coming, Lilia and Gino got married. Philip is forced to return home to Sawston without Lilia. Mission failed.
• Some time passes, and one day the Herritons receive word from Italy that Lilia has died during childbirth. Philip doesn't seem particularly heartbroken by Lilia's death, and no one gives a second thought for the child. Mrs. Herriton and Philip agree to keep the baby a secret from Irma and the rest of the town.
• But one day, Irma receives a postcard from Italy from her "lital brother" and suddenly the cat's out of the bag. News spreads, and soon Caroline hears about the child. Mrs. Herriton is pressured into taking interest in the baby's fate, so she sends Philip on a second mission to Italy. This time Philip's goal is to convince Gino to let them adopt and raise the baby in England.
• Philip travels with Harriet to Monteriano, where they run into Miss Abbott (who is there to spy on the Herritons and make sure they bring the baby back to England).
• Gino is not at home when Philip goes to call on him, so Philip suggests to Harriet and Caroline that they should go to the opera that evening. At the show, they coincidentally run into Gino, of all people. Gino is thrilled to see Philip, and they arrange to meet the next day.
• When Philip's attempts to convince Gino to part with his son prove futile, he's ready to pack his bag and head home.
• But he receives a note from Harriet telling him to meet her at the North Gate, and when he picks her up, Harriet is carrying a bundle in her arms—it's Gino's baby. Philip assumes that Harriet somehow managed to offer Gino enough money for the child, and he leaves it at that.
• However, in an unfortunate twist of fate, the carriage overturns and the baby is killed. Philip finds out too late that Harriet had kidnapped the child.
• Philip breaks the news to Gino, who is so overcome by grief and anger that he attacks Philip and nearly kills him.
• Miss Abbott intervenes and manages to successfully restore peace by having Philip and Gino share a bottle of milk that had been intended for the baby.
• By the time Philip leaves Italy, he and Gino part on friendly terms. In the train, Philip realizes that he has come to love Miss Abbott. He's about to confess his feelings to her when she tells him that she has fallen for Gino. Philip still considers Caroline to be the most compassionate woman he's ever met, but he knows they'll never be together.