Thanks for helping answer certain questions. However, I'm still somewhat puzzled as to how clever and scheming Lucy Steel really is. Again, assuming none of us has neither read the entire work nor read ahead....at this point, I still think Lucy is no match for Elinor and can we add among the other assumptions that Lucy is not so much uneducated as she is in-educable? (either incapable of being taught or not wanting to be taught?) Such is the fun of the group read: The mystery of intent!