The Woodlanders

Giles sees Mr. Melbury walking across his yard and approaches him. He asks if the Melburys will visit his house the day after next. However, out of a “self-deprecatory sense of living on a much smaller scale than the Melburys” (59), Giles does not tell them that it is to be “a gathering of any importance” (59). Nor does he mention a time. Thus, believing it to be merely a casual meeting, the Melburys show up early on the day of the party. They thereby catch Giles and his helper, Robert Creedle, in the middle of preparing food for the party and not remotely ready to receive guests.

Unfortunately, things do not get much better for Giles. Despite the good quality of the food and drink offered, Grace is splashed by one of Creedle’s desserts as he serves it. They are then forced to play cards with old sets, as the new ones are monopolized by two boisterous local guests playing their own game. Grace does not dance to the band that Giles has booked from Great Hintock either, because she has forgotten the traditional Hintock dances. Finally, as the Melburys are walking home, they hear the two other guests singing a crude song about a maid.