In Which Mrs. Fitzpatrick Concludes Her History
- Most of the officers stationed near Mr. Fitzpatrick's house are as horrible as he is.
- There is one who is different, a lieutenant and a "very pretty sort of man" (11.7.2).
- Mrs. Fitzpatrick really likes his wife, too, and they are all friends.
- Eventually, they leave the area, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick feels more alone than ever.
- She tries to get back in touch with Mrs. Western, but her aunt refuses to reply.
- Mr. Fitzpatrick goes on a three-month business trip to England.
- Mrs. Fitzpatrick is beyond lonely.
- Her dark mood is made even worse by the death of her baby.
- A young lady relative of Mr. Fitzpatrick's comes to stay with her for a while.
- She finally tells Mrs. Fitzpatrick that her husband keeps a mistress.
- And even though Mrs. Fitzpatrick hates her husband, she's hurt that he's cheating on her. When he comes back from England, he is surprisingly sweet to her.
- And she soon discovers why he's being so nice: he spent all of her fortune while he was away.
- He needs her permission to sell a piece of property that still belongs to her.
- Mrs. Fitzpatrick says no.
- Mr. Fitzpatrick claims that she owes him the estate because she's cheated on him with that lieutenant the year before (which Mrs. Fitzpatrick totally denies).
- Mr. Fitzpatrick kicks his lady relative out of the house and locks Mrs. Fitzpatrick up.
- He won't let her go until she gives in and sells the estate.
- One day, when her husband was away, Mrs. Fitzpatrick receives some money (she won't say from where).
- She uses it to bribe her way out of the locked room.
- She travels to Dublin and then sails to England, in the hopes of staying with either Mrs. Western or Squire Western.
- Her husband almost catches up with her at the inn at Upton (as we saw in Book 10).
- She escapes with her maid just in time, and the rest, Sophia knows.
- Sophia is very sorry for her cousin. She thinks this all happened because Mr. Fitzpatrick is Irish. (Oh, Sophia. Why?!)
- Mrs. Fitzpatrick disagrees: it's not because he's Irish, it's because he's a fool.
- (Check out our "Quotes and Thoughts" section under "Appearances" for our views on anti-Irish prejudice in this novel.)