Do intentions justify actions? Would you, like Horace Danby, do something wrong if you thought your ends justified the means? Do you think that there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honestly?

Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?

Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?

“Horace Danby was good and respectable − but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace?

What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the lady of the house?

Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realise this, and how?