[4] Sir Thomas was aware that Dr. Jemmy Fox has fallen in love with his daughter Inez, and expresses to his friend Rev.

[4] He has however, an alibi, as at the time of the occurrence he had been summoned to a distant place where his father was ill. Penniloe and others remain staunch to him, and one or two of the villagers take his side.

[4] Fox tries to see Lady Waldron, but she refuses him admittance; he, however, meets Inez, and not only finds that she does not believe the calumny, but that she reciprocates his affections.

The mystery is only resolved on the return of Sir Thomas's son from abroad, as he proves to be the means of finding the solution.

[5] In reviewing the novel, The Spectator noted that the story "is much too slender to serve as the framework for a [three-volume] novel" and that "the book is in essence a study of rural life in south-western England.