The Rook-Rifle
There is certainly intended irony in the fact that Stella kills her brutish military officer husband with a small, lightweight, single-loading rifle constructed for the purpose of killing small game with a single fatal shot. A weapon intended for nothing larger than a healthy rabbit is the ironic mechanism of an abusive lout’s demise.
The Witnessing
Central to the witnessing for the defense (or defence, as the British prefer for some bizarre reason probably having to do with the sceptical nature of their humour) which Henry provides is an explanation for why he was not on a boat he was supposed to be on at such a coincidental moment in time. As he is giving testimony, Henry inadvertently makes an ironic confession about his entire life when he says “I missed the boat.” Indeed, Henry might have enjoyed the love of Stella as his wife, thus sparing her years of abuse and the necessity for himself to commit perjury, but instead he “missed the boat” on that score as well.
Perjury of a Parliamentarian
Henry denies himself the love of the beautiful teenaged Stella because attaining financial independence is worth the sacrifice. He will attempt to atone for missing the boat on this score by theoretically placing his career and his standing as a member of Parliament in jeopardy when he commits perjury to stem the negative tide growing against Stella over the ambiguous circumstances of her husband’s death. This becomes tragically ironic when it is the very fact that his perjured testimony remains such a source of suspicious contention despite never being directly challenged that it seals the doom of his ever catching a ride on the Stella boat again.
Everything’s a Lie
Chapter XXVI consists of a conversation between Henry and Stella after everything has occurred and they are both back in England and life is leading them into unexpected places. The chapter bears the subtitle “Two Strangers” and it is just the first of many ironies which comprise this meeting of two people who've known each other for eight years. Hyperbolically speaking, what is revealed is that everything has been a lie. Not everything, of course, but much of what has taken place and the motivations and the stated reasoning and the recollections presented as fact are, indeed, revealed to be partially or totally untrue.
Happily Ever After?
Is the novel properly categorized as a mystery, a crime thriller or a tragic romance? Hard to say, really, but the latter does gain some weight as a result of its ironic ending in which a secret marriage carries all the hallmarks of the happily ever after. The ironic part? Stella doesn’t wind up marrying Henry after all, but instead marries the third man of her life, Dick Hazlewood.
