The Paradise Mystery · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Paradise Mystery by J. S. Fletcher.

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Chapter 1
Only the Guardian
The chapter opens with a vivid description of Wrychester Cathedral Close, an idyllic and ancient setting. Dr. Mark Ransford, a prosperous medical practitioner, is at breakfast with his two wards: Mary Bewery, a young woman of twenty, and her younger brother Dick, a schoolboy of seventeen. Mary confides in Ransford that his assistant, Mr. Pemberton Bryce, has repeatedly proposed marriage to her despite her refusals. Ransford resolves to dismiss Bryce. Mary then presses Ransford to reveal more about their parents and their financial situation. Ransford reluctantly tells her that they have their own money held in trust, though this is a lie; he is secretly in love with Mary himself, tormented by the role of 'only the guardian.'
Chapter 2
II: Making an Enemy
Dr. Ransford confronts his assistant Pemberton Bryce about his persistent and unwelcome attentions toward Mary Bewery. Despite Ransford's clear dismissal of Bryce's suit, Bryce refuses to back down, leading Ransford to terminate his employment by paying three months' salary. Bryce warns Ransford that he could be a dangerous enemy and hints at the town's gossip about Mary's mysterious origins, especially if she were to marry someone like Sackville Bonham.
Chapter 3
St. Wrytha’s Stair
After being dismissed by Dr. Ransford, Bryce prepares to leave the surgery but is interrupted by a well-dressed, nervous stranger asking for Ransford. Bryce directs him through Paradise, a secluded enclosure near the Cathedral. Later, Bryce encounters Mary Bewery, who rebuffs him, and then witnesses Ransford emerging from the Cathedral in visible agitation. In Paradise, Bryce learns from the mason Varner that a man has been thrown from a high doorway (St. Wrytha's Stair) and is dead. Bryce examines the body, finds a cryptic scrap of paper, and hides it before the police arrive. He then rushes to fetch Ransford, hoping to observe his reaction to the dead man.
Chapter 4
The Room at the Mitre
Bryce observes Ransford's agitated state before informing him of a stranger's death in Paradise. Ransford's reaction suggests concealed knowledge. At the scene, Varner reports seeing the victim thrown from a doorway by a man with a gentleman's hand. Bryce and Inspector Mitchington investigate at the Mitre, where landlady Mrs. Partingley identifies the deceased as Mr. John Braden, a recent arrival from London who planned to visit Saxonsteade. Braden's belongings are new and unmarked, with Parisian labels, and his traveling companion Mr. Dellingham claims no prior acquaintance.
Chapter 5
V: The Scrap of Paper
Bryce examines a cryptic scrap of paper found on the dead man, which appears to be a Latin direction to a location in Paradise near Richard Jenkins's tomb. He considers theories about the stranger's death, including Archdale's suggestion that the man slipped on the worn, sloping gallery floor rather than being thrown. Bryce also reflects on the mystery surrounding Ransford's wards, Mary and Dick Bewery, and his own ambitions to marry Mary.

Only the Guardian

II: Making an Enemy

St. Wrytha’s Stair

The Room at the Mitre

V: The Scrap of Paper