This feels like Marriage A La Mode, where William felt similarly about his wife and family. Mr. Neave has spent so much providing for his family that he has not had the opportunity to enjoy it with them. This brings up an interesting conundrum. If Mr. Neave had acted more like Harold, maybe he would have a better relationship with his family. On the other hand, he would not have his business, or likely the other comforts his family can enjoy due to his hard work.

This reminds me of one of the earlier stories, where the narrator stated that Stanley was determined to make everything into a job. A common theme in most of these stories is how one must connect their working life with their home life. In a way, I feel like the moral of most of the stories is to enjoy life as we have it, and to live in the moment, so I wonder how this story will tie back into it.

Although Leila initially experienced excitement over the entertainment her relatives regularly got to enjoy, she realizes that sometimes a simple life might be the happier one. This seems to be a common theme in many of these short stories. One character seems to think about their situation, and come to an uncomfortable realization about the way they live their life.

It seems strange to connect Leila, apparently a cousin of the Garden Party children, with a boarding school. The Sheridan children exemplify high class living, and it seems unusual that their relative would attend a boarding school, and would not know about ball etiquette.

It seems like the children from the Garden Party have really changed since then. A ball seems like it should elicit more excitement, but the children are now able to at least act indifferent.

It seems the reality that William could leave seems to have shone through to Isabel. This seems to show that Isabel might rely on William after all.

Given how Isabel claimed that only William was acting distant, Isabel seems strangely uncaring towards William whenever she is not with him.

Despite being told Isabel's side of things, I understand why William feels the distance between him and the others. Isabel and the rest mostly leave him alone, and I can imagine that having such a distant family could have a draining affect on William.

This is another strange series of split images. Laura's concern contrasts with her family's lack of concern, and his peaceful "sleeping face" contrasts with how his family is reacting, and with his manner of death.

This seems like an awfully harsh assessment of the people living nearby. It is likely that these same people perform minor tasks for the main characters. It also clashes with our first impressions of the characters, given how politely and carefully the marquee men are treated.

It is strange to see how different the characters' priorities are. To Godber's man and the Cook, this death obviously means much more to them. On the other hand, Jose seems to gloss over the death, since it doesn't affect him personally.

I like how the author clearly conveys sarcasm in this writing. Given the prior statements of how they were bouncing off the walls, preparing for the party, the two are shown to be excited and very much child-like in their anticipation of the party.

Stanley portrays such self-importance and disdane towards others, including his mother. I wonder if he will have a change of heart, much like Scrooge from A Christmas Carol.

This seems like an unusual trait to put on this man. His introduction emphasized his smooth voice, and he is obviously strong at swimming. Given his athleticism, it seems unusual that his body would ache and have such pains.

Miss Clack seems to have an interesting set of priorities. Although she mentions her lack of wealth, she is more concerned about public opinion of her. This may be attributed to her strict religious views, but it seems unusual that she would think that she even had enemies.

This is interesting because it demonstrates another view of Miss Verinder. Although Miss Clark is a biased narrator, this passage gives insight into Miss Verinder's manners that Betteredge's narrative did not. It demonstrates a strength and determination that was not shown in the previous parts of the book.

This is an interesting point of view of Betteredge. Up until now, we were seeing the story through him, and his importance relative to the servants. While we know Lady Verinder values Betteredge, this is the first time we hear negative comments about Betteredge.

I like how the author brings out the Sergeant's detective nature in all his words, especially since the last comment the Sergeant made to Betteredge was about how transparently Betteredge acts. Although that statement could have been taken as an insult, the Sergeant is able to explain why having such a forward and clear nature can be a good thing sometimes.

I like how the author does a good job in lumping together Betteredge's opinions with Lady Verinder's. According to the previous descriptions of Betteredge's loyalty to the Lady, I expected this kind of grouping to be more common.

The last few chapters seem to create a contrast with the beginning of the book. At the start, many people who hadn't been back in a while were rushing to return, but now all the people who seemed like they would stay rooted here are all leaving for Frizinghall.

This passage seems odd to me. This passage shows how much Betteredge respects her, yet for most of the book so far, he has kept her out of the loop. It seems weird that he would hold her in such high esteem, but still not warn her about, for example, the arrival of the Diamond.

This entire paragraph seems to contrast with Betteredge's previous descriptions of the Sergeant. Given how methodical and thoughtful he was with the prior parts of the investigation, it seems unusual that his questioning would elicit such harsh responses from the servants.

This seems, in some way, to mirror Mr. Godfrey's attitude when Miss Rachel rejected him. Perhaps Betteredge and the Sergeant are mixing up the case with Miss Rachel's relationship with Mr. Franklin. Given how close the two of them were, just chapters ago, it seems that something major must have happened to create such a large rift.

In a way, this entire paragraph seems to demonstrate that the Sergeant is more cultured than Betteredge. The Sergeant appears accustomed to the high class luxuries that the wealthy enjoy. This is a strange contrast, since Betteredge has apparently been looking after this high class household for his entire life.

If this statement is true, then it seems unusual that the fake jugglers would have retreated when their cover was blown rather than just get their hands dirty. Although they were outnumbered, with the Diamond so visible, it seems like they could have attempted to grab it and run without much danger.

By this point, it appears that everyone believes that the Colonel did not have his niece's best interests in mind when he willed her the diamond, except for Mr. Franklin's Devil's advocate response to Betteredge. I wonder if the author will reveal some other development to once again have everyone guessing if the Colonel did indeed have a good heart.

At some points, it seems like Betteredge is speaking sarcastically about Mr. Franklin's talents, especially when he recalls that Mr. Franklin was sent all over Europe for education. In this case, it seems that Mr. Franklin is treated as the expert of decorative painting, which is not necessarily an academic talent.

I find it interesting that the Indians have been charged with watching over the gem throughout the ages, and can even use "hocus-pocus" to reveal parts of the future, yet they do not seem to have any additional powers granted by the moon god to take back the diamong

This seems to fall in line with Betteredge's tendency to only speak from his point of view. Although not everybody knows of the diamond, Betteredge feels its importance and seems to project it onto everyone else.

The author's choice of "the bride's husband's house" rather than "the groom's house" further emphasizes Betteredge's loyalty to the Herncastle family. In a way, it also seems like he is belittling Sir Verinder, which I find unusual. From what I know, in the 1850s, the patriarch should demand the most respect, but somehow the family seems to have turned matriarchal. Maybe he can only say this since Sir Verinder is dead, but a loyal butler should not be speaking ill of his employer.

To add on to the previous comment, it feels like Betteredge does not understand the full reason why Mr. Franklin and Mr. Bruff want this information to be written down. They know more about the situation, and Betteredge does not seem to view it with the same gravity that the other two do.

It seems interesting that his body lies "under a heap of the slain", suggesting that he died before the others. Instead of his people protecting him to the death, perhaps they fought over his possessions, suggesting that the Sultan did not inspire loyalty among his followers.

I find this section interesting, since Vishnu is stated to be the Preserver. It seems somewhat out of his wheelhouse to lay a curse on the gem, when compared to Shiva the Destroyer.