“Within this moat there was, as I have said, the fish-pond—a sheet of water that extended the whole length of the garden, and bordering which there was an avenue called the lime-tree walk; an avenue so shaded from the sun and sky, so screened from observation by the thick shelter of the over-arching trees that it seemed a chosen place for secret meetings or for stolen interviews; a place in which a conspiracy might have been planned or a lover's vow registered with equal safety.”  

The novel’s first chapter singles out a secluded part of the garden within Audley Court. When the narrator remarks on this being a perfect place for secret meetings and conspiracies, the reader infers that the novel is going to include—and potentially hinge upon—meetings of this nature.

“‘Poverty, poverty, trials, vexations, humiliations, deprivations. You cannot tell; you, who are amongst those for whom life is so smooth and easy; you can never guess what is endured by such as we. Do not ask too much of me, then. I cannot be disinterested; I cannot be blind to the advantages of such an alliance. I cannot, I cannot!’” 

When Sir Michael proposes to her, Lucy Graham’s sweet, placid nature gives way to an impassioned response. Though she accepts, she does not pretend that she does so out of love. Rather, she tells Sir Michael that she cannot pretend she is not swayed by the luxurious, comfortable lifestyle that he offers.

“‘[E]very trace of the old life melted away—every clew to identity buried and forgotten—except these, except these.’

She had never taken her left hand from the black ribbon at her throat. She drew it from her bosom as she spoke, and looked at the object attached to it.

It was neither a locket, a miniature, nor a cross: it was a ring wrapped in an oblong piece of paper—the paper partly printed, partly written, yellow with age, and crumpled with much folding” 

Having accepted Sir Michael’s proposal, the woman known as Lucy Graham reflects on her past and present. She has now become almost entirely detached from her previous life (which is unknown to the reader at this point), aside from a ring wrapped in an old piece of paper. We later realize that this is Helen Talboys’ wedding ring.