Aurora Floyd Chapter XXXIII

In which Captain Prodder, haunted by the dark events at Mellish Park, returns covertly to Doncaster, adopting the guise of an aristocratic tourist to learn the outcome of the inquest and the local whispers surrounding the tragedy. He finds himself drawn into a seedy public-house where a circle of townsfolk speculate on the murdered man’s associations, and tensions rise as insinuations about his niece threaten to provoke the sailor's fierce defence of her honour.