Meeting the Wrong d'Urberville — Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess reluctantly agrees to visit the wealthy d'Urbervilles to ask for help after killing the family horse. Her guilt makes her defer to her mother's scheme despite her own misgivings about playing the poor relation. The journey takes her beyond her familiar valley world to The Slopes, a nouveau riche estate that surprises her with its newness, nothing like the ancient noble family she expected. She meets Alec d'Urberville, a young man with 'touches of barbarism' who immediately calls her 'my Beauty' and shows predatory interest. What Tess doesn't know is that the d'Urbervilles are frauds, a merchant family who bought the name from a genealogy book to gain social respectability. Alec manipulates the encounter, insisting on feeding her strawberries by hand and decorating her with flowers despite her discomfort. Hardy ominously notes that Alec represents the 'tragic mischief' of Tess's story, drawn to her womanly appearance that makes her seem older than she is. The chapter ends with Alec's crude laughter after she leaves, revealing his true character. Hardy reflects on life's cruel timing, how the wrong people appear at vulnerable moments while the right ones remain absent. This meeting sets the tragedy in motion, showing how economic desperation and family pressure can lead innocent people into dangerous situations.