Summary

In Chapter 12, Mrs. Beste-Chetwynde writes to her son Peter, proposing to employ Paul over the Easter holidays to improve Peter’s spellings “which are just too shattering,” so that he has a good chance to gain admission to Oxford.

This storyline takes a back seat to the dilemma of Capt. Grimes, who is once again in trouble, and has to pull out the ace card of his engagement to Flossie to forestall dire repercussions. Dr. Fagan attempts to derail the engagement; Paul is summoned to Dr. Fagan’s office, where Fagan offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to Paul instead, along with a handsome partnership in the school. With his future prospects with Mrs. Beste-Chetwynde in mind, Paul respectfully declines, and is sent to convey Dr. Fagan’s reluctant blessings to Grimes with the message that the wedding should take place within the week...