The Little Stranger

Every Sunday, Faraday goes to Hundreds for Roderick’s treatment. After, he always has tea with Caroline and Mrs. Ayers. Faraday begins to like the Ayerses more and more, especially Caroline. He often sees Caroline walking through the park and stops to talk with her. One day, Faraday brings Caroline some honey as a gift, and both Caroline and Mrs. Ayers are amazed by the kindness. Faraday does not see the big deal, but the Ayerses repeatedly express their appreciation. During this time, Roderick’s leg is getting much better because of his treatment.

The Ayers family begins getting to know the Baker-Hydes. After speaking with Mrs. Baker-Hyde in town, Mrs. Ayers decides to throw a small gathering at Hundreds. Faraday is skeptical about the Ayerses' ability to pull off such a gathering, but Mrs. Ayers assures him they can handle it. Caroline invites Faraday to the party, which takes place several Sundays later. 

In private, Caroline tells Faraday she is skeptical about the party, as is Roderick. However, she knows it will make Mrs. Ayers happy, so she does her best to prepare the house for it. Although Caroline does a lot of work herself, she also tasks Mrs. Bazeley and Betty with more work than they are used to. Although Mrs. Bazeley complains, she and Betty work hard for the occasion.

Faraday finds himself looking forward to the party. In particular, he is interested in meeting the Baker-Hydes. Before Faraday goes to the party, he stops by to see Graham and Anne, who help Faraday improve his appearance; he is not used to dressing up for this type of party, and his attire isn't quite right. Faraday is embarrassed but appreciates his friends’ help.

The evening of the party is a rainy night. Faraday makes his way out to Hundreds. He finds the hall cloaked in shadows and quiet when he arrives. Faraday lets himself in and makes his way to the parlour. Usually, most of the furniture at Hundreds is covered, and the only light in the house is natural. However, all the Ayerses uncovered the furniture for the party, and the chandeliers are brightly shining, at least in the rooms meant for the guests.

Faraday finds Caroline finishing up the preparations for the party. Caroline has dressed up for the occasion, and although Faraday thinks she would look better if she dressed as she usually does, he compliments her on her appearance. Caroline blushes, appreciating the compliment.

Soon after, Mrs. Ayers makes her entrance. Like Caroline, she is dressed up for the occasion. However, Roderick has yet to appear, much to Mrs. Ayers's dismay. Mrs. Ayers is nervous about the party and wishes Roderick was beside her. Roderick is the master of the house, and Mrs. Ayers thinks it only proper that he attend the party on time. 

A few minutes later, the first guests show up to the party. Betty lets them in and brings them to Mrs. Ayers. Faraday recognizes the other families in attendance from his medical practice, though he does not know them well. Everyone seems surprised that Faraday is in attendance.

A short while later, the Baker-Hydes arrive with their daughter, Gillian. Everyone is surprised to see Gillian, who the Ayerses did not know was coming. Although they are rather extravagant, Faraday finds himself liking the Baker-Hydes. However, he dislikes Mr. Morley, Mrs. Baker-Hyde’s brother, who is also present. Faraday finds Morley pretentious and thinks that he acts as though he is above everyone else at the party. No one else seems to like Morley either, but the Ayerses do their best to make him comfortable.

As Faraday observes Caroline interact with the party guests, he suddenly realizes that the party's purpose is to find Caroline a husband. This realization makes Faraday feel inadequate and puts him in a dour mood. However, the other party guests have a good time as the Ayerses show them around and discuss the many antiquities in the house. At one point, Mr. Baker-Hyde finds that beetles have infested part of the wall. He warns the Ayerses that they must take care of the infestation soon before it does permanent damage. He says that the previous owners of his home did not fix similar issues, which led to significant problems. Mr. Baker-Hyde then expresses his opinion that people should only keep homes that they can afford to keep up.

After some light conversation, Mr. Baker-Hyde asks after Roderick, who still has not shown up for the party. Mrs. Ayers sends Betty upstairs to fetch him. Betty returns minutes later, looking flustered, and says that Roderick will be down shortly. However, more time passes, and Roderick never appears. In the meantime, Caroline gets annoyed at Gillian, who acts entitled and will not stop touching things all over the manor. Caroline even makes a snide comment about Gillian, angering Mrs. Baker-Hyde, but the tense moment soon passes, and the guests return to their normal conversation.

Later, Mr. Baker-Hyde and Faraday have a one-on-one conversation, and Mr. Baker-Hyde inquires about Faraday's position at Hundreds. He assumes that Faraday is at the party to care for Roderick, but Faraday tells him he is only there to socialize. Mr. Baker-Hyde quickly shifts the conversation to Mr. Morley, for whom he openly expresses his distaste. He tells Faraday that the entire purpose of the party was to try to arrange a romance between Caroline and Mr. Morley. 

As the Baker-Hydes prepare to leave, Gillian plays with Gyp by a window. She is partially out of the view of the other partygoers, although Mrs. Baker-Hyde regularly turns around to check on her. At one point, when no one is looking, Gyp yelps, and Gillian screams. Mr. Baker-Hyde quickly goes over to tend to his daughter, who has blood running down her face. As Faraday approaches, he realizes that Gyp bit her in the face. Faraday springs into action, swiftly stopping the bleeding, but he can tell it is a bad bite.

Mr. Baker-Hyde is furious and overwhelmed. Faraday tells him that he will have to stitch Gillian’s face. He takes her to the kitchen to perform the operation because he doesn’t want to drive her to the nearest hospital in such poor weather. As Faraday takes Gillian to the kitchen, Mr. Morley sees Gyp and kicks him. Caroline angrily yells at Mr. Morley, which causes a fight about who is to blame for the bite. Caroline claims that Gyp is harmless and has never bitten anyone. Meanwhile, Mr. Morley thinks that someone should shoot him.

Faraday does not have time to deal with the argument; he is too busy attending to Gillian. Faraday isn't worried about performing the stitching in the kitchen. He has done similar operations before, almost routinely. However, he knows that the Baker-Hydes are scared and does his best to console them. As Faraday stitches Gillian, he knows that the scarring will be extensive. After the operation, he puts gauze on Gillian's face to minimize the Baker-Hydes' fear. 

The Baker-Hydes take Gillian to the car. As they do so, the other party members discuss what could have caused Gyp to bite Gillian. However, no one can come up with a convincing reason. Mr. Baker-Hyde returns inside to take his leave, and Mrs. Ayers apologizes, though he does not accept her apology.