In Arcadia, things quickly swell out of their right proportions.... Ursula thought of the silly house and the silly affairs, and the silly gossip surrounding it, as though it were really vital. She was interested in any fresh development in the accumulating scandal--morbidly worried over the hints to be careful, dropped from first one direction and then another. Her sense of amusement was being nagged away by the humourless pre-occupations of Arcadia, and fear obsessed and suffocated her.... Suddenly, she felt indeed a foreigner, and as such, apologetic and timorous. After all, they were going to settle down in this place, perhaps never to leave it, so it mattered that the natives should not hate them; it was important to twist and wriggle and force your viewpoint to the same alien angle as theirs--“you have made your bed and you must lie on it!” For the moment Ursula was helplessly victim to this fallacy. Then a telegram was delivered at Parc Gooth by a sloe-eyed, grinning youngster so agog to spread its contents that he practically threw it over the garden wall. It was signed “Gregson,” and said curtly: “Allow no one to inspect house. Arriving shortly.” Half an hour later, Major Allingham-Jones, a cross little inquisitive yellowish man and his large pink wife, stood clamouring at the front door, with the Laceys’ written authority to be shown over Parc Gooth. Doug was happily employed up at the cottage, wrenching at the roots of gorse and bramble which obscured the window of his cabin, so Ursula had to refuse the couple admittance, on her own initiative; she thought on the whole she would rather offend the Laceys, who lived at Nottingham, than the near-pressing tradesmen of St. Miniot and Polpinnock, in whose power they lay for shelter, sustenance, warmth and society. Oh, the hateful propitiating dependence of life lived moderately close to nature! Oh, the humility of not being able to change your butcher or threaten the only person in the district who hires out jingles and cars. Tody was sulky with Ursula all the rest of the day, having had private information by post from Mr. and Mrs. Lacey that the Allingham-Joneses were to be graciously received at Parc Gooth, as they would pay a good rent for such a house, and good wages to Tody. He hinted menacingly that if Wright imagined by writing lies to Miss Gregson he could do Tody out of a job, then Tody, who was prepared to act fairly by everybody, would have to tell the lady and gentleman an item of news that hitherto he had kept to Tody for fear of upsetting the lady who had so far treated him fairly.... [IX]