The Argosy, Vol. 29, March 1880

The Mysteries of Heron Dyke This serialized Victorian novel (Chapter VII, titled "Coming to Dinner") concerns Ella Winter, grand-niece to Squire Denison of Heron Dyke, who finds herself distracted by thoughts of Edward Conroy, a visiting artist. Despite her resolution with Maria Kettle to remain unmarried and serve the poor as spinsters, Ella cannot control her preoccupation with him ahead of his dinner visit. The narrative establishes Ella's family history—orphaned daughter of Captain Winter, raised by her uncle with expectation she'll inherit the estate—while introducing a subplot involving stolen jewels from Ella's Aunt Gertrude in London, worth three hundred pounds, possibly taken by a dinner guest. The chapter culminates in Conroy and Ella's evening walk through the grounds to the sand-hills, where Conroy reveals he may be dispatched to Africa imminently due to conflict with the King of Ashantee. The romantic tension builds as Ella wrestles with her feelings.