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Tom Jones Book 17, Chapter 6 Summary

In Which Mrs. Miller Pays a Visit to Sophia

  • Since Sophia and her aunt are now so friendly, Sophia is free to meet with guests.
  • So when Mrs. Miller arrives, Sophia welcomes her.
  • As soon as Mrs. Miller shows Sophia her letter from Tom, Sophia refuses to open it.
  • But Mrs. Miller falls on her knees and begs Sophia to take it.
  • Sophia wants to know why Mrs. Miller is such a fan of Tom's.
  • Mrs. Miller tells all about her cousin, Mr. Anderson; she also explains about Nancy and Mr. Nightingale.
  • Sophia hints that Mrs. Miller should leave so that she can open the letter alone.
  • As soon as Mrs. Miller goes out the door, Sophia picks it up.
  • In the letter, Tom apologizes and swears faithfulness to Sophia.
  • He claims that the situation with Lady Bellaston, while it doesn't reflect particularly well on him, is not as bad as she might assume.
  • Certainly, Tom never wanted to marry Lady Bellaston.
  • Sophia is still angry with both Tom and Lady Bellaston.
  • She doesn't know what to think.
  • But Lady Bellaston is eating dinner with Mrs. Western that evening, and Sophia can't avoid her.
  • Lady Bellaston jumps at the chance to insult Sophia subtly throughout the meal.
  • Lord Fellamar is also there, which makes Sophia doubly uncomfortable.
  • Sophia is having a lot of trouble sitting at the card table pretending to be happy.