Laurie, I had the exact same thought about that Parrish/Randolph dialogue in Chapter Nine. It sounded like the two of them were reciting pre-rehearsed lines, didn't it? I almost sprayed tea over my book when Randolph walked into the room and said without preamble:

"I came as soon as I received your summons. What has happened and how can I help?"

Who does that sort of thing? How many people would actually walk into a room full of people--all of them pretty much related to one another and none of them related to oneself--and launch into an unknown and likely delicate topic? I wouldn't even suspect it of an American fitting the stereotypes of Mrs. Hurst and her ilk.

And how's a person supposed to believe that Parrish has his wife's health and safety as Priority #1 when he reacts so strongly and suddenly to Randolph's suggestion that they remove to Louisiana? Here he is in a conference with all her closest relatives while his wife recovers from what are thought to be self-inflicted knife wounds. But the suggestion that he take her home seems to make everything all better for him in an instant. In fact, I see him as positively giddy here--not what I'd normally expect from a man whose bride seems to be out of her senses within a week of the wedding.