Chapter 12 Summary

Flora's London friend Claud Hart-Harris knows the Hawk-Monitors and agrees to arrange the invites. He describes Mrs. Hawk-Monitor as a darling, which gives Flora pause in her scheme, wondering if it is a good idea to throw Elfine on her only son. To counteract her feelings of guilt, she throws herself into reworking Elfine into being a Hawk-Monitor sort, making her forsake shawls and poetry and educating her on the intricacies of contemporary fashion. With less than a month before the party, Flora puts her heart and soul into the project, despite other distractions. On an errand in town, she runs into a Starkadder she barely recognizes as she waits for the bus. It is Harkaway, the relative that is sent into town once a week to do a bank errand. He offers Flora a ride and confides that he takes the buggy...