Tess of the d'Urbervilles Phase I: The Maiden Chapter 9

In which Tess takes up the curious charge of tending to a variety of fowls under the watchful eye of the blind and exacting Mrs d’Urberville, whose sharp senses and peculiar demands shape the young woman’s new duties within the ancient estate’s ivy-clad walls. Amidst this novel service, Tess encounters the irrepressible presence of Alec d’Urberville, whose playful interventions both ease her labours and complicate her feelings in the quiet garden and ornate manor.