# Lord Rupert Wins the Second Trick explained — These Old Shades

> Chapter companion for These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer.

## What happens

Léonie awakens after being drugged by the Comte de Saint-Vire, finding herself in a strange seaside town. She escapes her locked room and is rescued by Lord Rupert Alastair, who has followed her from England. Rupert is wounded in a scuffle with Saint-Vire, but they find refuge with a kind innkeeper, Madame Marthe. Léonie tends to Rupert, and they plan their next move while hiding from Saint-Vire.

## Themes in this chapter

### Identity and Disguise

Léonie's disguise as a boy is central to the plot, as Saint-Vire believes she is a boy and she must maintain the ruse even in danger.

### Power and Control

Saint-Vire exerts control over Léonie through drugging and abduction, while Rupert and Léonie struggle to regain agency and escape.

## Character check-ins

### Léonie de Bonnard

Awakens after being drugged, escapes the Comte, and is rescued by Rupert. She tends to Rupert's wound and shows resourcefulness and fear.

### Lord Rupert Alastair

Follows Léonie to France, is wounded by Saint-Vire, but manages to rescue her. He is weak but determined, and they hide together.

### Comte de Saint-Vire

The antagonist who drugged and abducted Léonie. He wounds Rupert in a confrontation but is forced to flee when Rupert fires a pistol.

### Maman Marthe

The kind innkeeper who takes in Léonie and Rupert, tends to Rupert's wound, and provides comfort and shelter.

## Key lines

> I am in tomorrow! That man made me go to sleep, and I have slept all day and night!

Léonie realizes she has slept through an entire day and night due to the drug Saint-Vire gave her.

_Highlights the disorientation and danger Léonie faces after being drugged._

> I am glad that I bit him, and threw the coffee over him.

Léonie takes pride in having physically resisted Saint-Vire during her abduction.

_Shows Léonie's spirited and defiant nature even in peril._

> Here am I chasing you to God knows where, with never a sou in my pocket, nor a sword at my side, and the landlord's hat on my head!

Rupert describes his desperate and ill-equipped pursuit of Léonie across the Channel.

_Illustrates Rupert's impulsive loyalty and the comic absurdity of his situation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/these_old_shades_se/chapters/xix-lord-rupert-wins-the-second-trick
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/these_old_shades_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/these_old_shades_se/chapters