Although most people who do not know Lady Mason’s secret continue to regard her as an innocent woman being persecuted by Joseph Mason and Dockwrath, the case moves formally toward a criminal trial and she appears before the magistrates before being released on bail, while Sir Peregrine and Mrs. Orme remain beside her despite knowing the truth and Mr. Furnival and the other lawyers prepare carefully to challenge the evidence of Bridget Bolster and John Kenneby, and at the same time the Furnivals’ domestic jealousy begins to subside while Felix Graham recognizes the failure of his idealized plan to marry Mary Snow and accepts his genuine love for Madeline Staveley, so that as several romantic conflicts move toward resolution public opinion remains largely favorable to Lady Mason even though the lawyers closest to the evidence grow increasingly doubtful of her innocence as the evening before the trial finally arrives.
