Tom Jones Book 10, Chapter 5

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.