The Adventures of Roderick Random

The Miscarriage

When she regained consciousness, she was in a cheap apartment with an old woman who informed her that Horatio had claimed she was mad and wanted her sent to Bedlam, while his wife, suspicious of her claims, had ordered her to be closely monitored. Miss Williams hired a chair to return to her lodgings, and the intense agitation of the confrontation triggered a fever that caused a miscarriage. She expressed relief that the child had not survived, as she believed her unhinged rage would have led her to kill the infant as revenge against Horatio.

A Stranger’s Offer

After the miscarriage, her rage cooled into calculated, deliberate hatred. Her landlady informed her that a stranger had come to see her, claiming he had information that would bring her peace. The stranger, who said he knew all the details of her situation from Horatio himself, told him he hated Horatio for prior dishonorable conduct toward him, and offered to kill Horatio that night in revenge for her, on the condition she would agree to his one unspecified request.

The Avenger’s Pact

Overwhelmed with a “delirium of gloomy joy” at the offer of vengeance, Miss Williams immediately agreed to the stranger’s terms. The stranger promised to murder Horatio that night and return with proof of his death before morning.

Remorse and Terror

That night, the stranger returned claiming he had killed Horatio in a duel, leaving him bleeding on the ground. Miss Williams initially delighted in the account, but that night she had vivid nightmares of Horatio’s ghost appearing to her pale, mangled, and bloody, protesting his innocence and pleading his case so pathetically that she became convinced of his fidelity. She woke in a fit of horror and remorse, and the same apparition recurred if she fell back asleep, leaving her tormented by guilt at being a murderer. The next morning, the stranger suggested Horatio might not be dead after all, which horrified Miss Williams; she demanded he find out if Horatio was alive, and if he could not confirm his safety, she would turn herself in to face justice for her role in the supposed murder. The stranger argued it was unreasonable to reject him for a deed she had asked him to commit, but she insisted she would value him more if he had spared Horatio’s life. He agreed to investigate the outcome of the duel, leaving Miss Williams consumed by terror at the weight of her guilt.