The Little Stranger

The next day, Faraday stops by Standish, the Baker-Hyde residence, to check on Gillian. When he arrives, he sees his rival, Dr. Seeley. Dr. Seeley thanks Faraday for his work, and they briefly discuss Gillian’s condition. At this point, Gillian is stable, although Seeley says the bite has left her permanently disfigured. Faraday does not see Gillian himself because Dr. Seeley says she needs rest.

Instead, Faraday talks to Mr. Baker-Hyde, who thanks him for his help. He also tells Faraday that he plans to have Gyp put down. If the Ayerses refuse to put him down, Mr. Baker-Hyde intends to involve the authorities. Mr. Baker-Hyde agrees to speak with the Ayerses before talking to the police, but that is the only promise he is willing to make Faraday.

Faraday spends the rest of his day seeing his other patients. However, everywhere he goes, all anyone wants to discuss is what happened to Gillian. After work, Faraday drives to Hundreds, where he sees Gyp, who is not his usual, excited self; the dog seems to know he is in trouble.

As Faraday pets Gyp, Mrs. Ayers comes downstairs to greet him. Mrs. Ayers invites Faraday in for tea, and he follows her to the parlour, where Roderick and Caroline are sitting. Everyone is silent and unhappy from the night before. After some time, Mrs. Ayers asks how Gillian is doing, and Faraday tells her what he knows.

Although Mrs. Ayers feels bad for Gillian, Caroline is not as sympathetic. She seems to blame Gillian for the entire incident and does not plan to do anything to rectify the situation. Faraday realizes that the Ayerses do not understand the severity of the problem. Evidently, they have not yet spoken to Mr. Baker-Hyde. For the first time since his initial visit to Hundreds, Faraday finds himself disliking the Ayerses.

Faraday decides to tell Caroline about his conversation with Mr. Baker-Hyde. Unsurprisingly, Caroline is appalled by the idea of putting down Gyp. She feels that killing Gyp will do no good and that the Baker-Hydes only want to punish her. Again, Caroline reiterates that the incident is Gillian’s fault, and Gyp should not suffer because of it. During this conversation, Roderick is exceptionally quiet. However, at one point, he apologizes for his absence and expresses that he feels responsible for what happened. Shortly after, Roderick gets up and goes to his room. Faraday notices that Roderick looks pained. He asks Roderick if there is anything he can do, but Roderick says there is not.

After Roderick leaves, Caroline also retires to her room, leaving Faraday with Mrs. Ayers. Mrs. Ayers tells Faraday that she is concerned about Roderick. Apparently, the night of the party, Mrs. Ayers found Roderick in a “strange state” with a frightful look on his face. Faraday asks if Roderick was drinking, and Mrs. Ayers swears he was not. Faraday tells Mrs. Ayers that she should have told him about Roderick’s behavior. Mrs. Ayers replies that she wanted to, but Roderick made her promise that he would not. In fact, even Caroline does not know about what happened.

Mrs. Ayers details Roderick’s nervous breakdown following his return from the war. She claims she hardly recognized him—he was like a “stranger.” Roderick developed a nasty temper to the point where Mrs. Ayers stopped inviting people to the house. Faraday assures her that such behavior is common among veterans, even though it is upsetting. Mrs. Ayers knows this is the case, but it doesn’t make her feel better. She is skeptical whether Roderick will ever fully recover.

Additionally, Mrs. Ayers is worried about Caroline. She knows Hundreds is falling apart and is concerned about what will happen to her children. She admits to Faraday that the party's purpose was to find Caroline a husband; of course, the party was an utter failure on that front. Mrs. Ayers starts crying, and Faraday moves to comfort her. He feels terrible for Mrs. Ayers because he knows she has lived a difficult life since the death of Susan.

Before he leaves, Faraday tries once again to make Mrs. Ayers take Mr. Baker-Hyde seriously. However, Mrs. Ayers dismisses the idea, convinced the incident will blow over. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ayers is wrong. The next day, Mr. Baker-Hyde drives out to Hundreds and tells the Ayerses that they must put down Gyp, or he will get the police involved. Mrs. Ayers tries to convince Mr. Baker-Hyde that killing Gyp is not necessary. However, her protests only make Mr. Baker-Hyde angrier, and the visit ends with yelling and threats.

The locals are sympathetic to the Ayreses’ position but cannot understand why they will not put Gyp down to settle the affair. As promised, the Baker-Hydes get the law involved, and soon after, someone prints a story about the incident in the newspaper. Faraday takes the paper to the Ayerses and shows them the article. The article shakes Caroline’s confidence, and she starts worrying about what will happen to Gyp.

Privately, Mrs. Ayers tells Faraday that the Baker-Hydes’ lawyer recently contacted her to let her know that they planned to take the case to court. Mrs. Ayers knows that she has little to no chance of winning the case, not to mention that it would be expensive. Additionally, Mrs. Ayers knows what it is like to be at the center of a public scandal and does not wish that for herself or her children.

Mrs. Ayers asks Faraday if he will put Gyp down. Faraday is surprised but promises to do the job when the time comes. Faraday is glad he can help resolve the situation, but he dreads having to kill Gyp. When the day comes, Faraday procrastinates as long as he can. Faraday drives to Hundreds, where Mrs. Ayers greets him. She tells him that Caroline is upstairs with Gyp.

After tea, Faraday goes upstairs to Caroline’s room. Inside, Caroline is on her bed, petting Gyp. Gyp raises his head and wags his tail when he sees Faraday. Meanwhile, Caroline is distraught; Faraday sees she’s been crying all night. Caroline bickers with Faraday over the purpose of his visit, even though she knows that Faraday must put down Gyp. Faraday promises her that Gyp will not suffer.

Finally, Caroline allows Faraday to take Gyp. Faraday ushers Gyp downstairs and wonders if the dog has any sense that he’s done something wrong. As he prepares to give the injection, Faraday sees that Gyp is confused. When the dose is ready, Faraday administers it and holds his hand on Gyp’s heart until he feels it stop. After, he talks to Betty and Mrs. Bazeley, who are both upset about Gyp’s demise. In particular, Betty is distraught. Betty tells Faraday that there is a presence in the house, which makes “bad things happen.” Faraday chastises Betty and says that she is being silly. Betty insists that there is evil in the home, but Faraday will not hear it.