Lemorne Versus Huell

In Short

Elizabeth Stoddard’s 19th-century story follows Margaret Huell, an impoverished twenty-four-year-old music teacher summoned to Newport by her wealthy, autocratic Aunt Eliza. Aunt Eliza is embroiled in a high-stakes land lawsuit against a rival named Lemorne, whose case is argued by the stern, sharp attorney Edward Uxbridge. When Uxbridge pursues Margaret despite the ongoing feud, she is swept into a swift courtship that promises freedom from her grueling life. Yet beneath their romance lies a chilling calculation tied directly to the court outcome, cementing the story's reputation as a striking study in ambition, emotional detachment, and social transaction.

The Story

Margaret Huell lives a hand-to-mouth existence in Waterbury, teaching music to support herself and her widowed mother. Her life shifts abruptly when her rich, imperious paternal aunt, Eliza Huell, orders Margaret to accompany her to Newport for sea baths and relief from a lingering lawsuit, Lemorne vs. Huell, concerning valuable inherited property. Dependent on Aunt Eliza’s good graces, Margaret submits to her aunt's whimsical demands, including wearing expensive black silk in the summer fog and dutifully serving as her companion.

During her daily carriage rides along the fog-laden Newport roads, Margaret encounters Edward Uxbridge, the forty-year-old lead lawyer for her aunt's legal opponent. Their acquaintance deepens through several unexpected encounters: a near-collision on horseback, a shared ride home after a concert when Aunt Eliza’s coachman becomes intoxicated, and a quiet Sunday meeting by the sea. Uxbridge is intense, grave, and controlling, yet he offers Margaret an escape from her stifling anonymity. Margaret finds herself drawn to his commanding presence, preserving a leaf he touched inside a poetry book.

At a grand Newport ball, Uxbridge cornering Margaret in a window embrasure abruptly declares his love and asserts his intention to marry her. He escorts her back to Aunt Eliza’s hotel room late that night, where he openly asks for Margaret's hand. Aunt Eliza sharply probes his financial motives, reminding him that Margaret will only inherit sixty thousand dollars if the Huell family wins the lawsuit. Uxbridge acknowledges the value of wealth while gazing at Margaret, and the two strike an implicit understanding.

Following a brief autumn engagement, Margaret and Uxbridge marry quietly in November. He leaves her to spend the winter waiting in Waterbury while he manages his legal practice in New York, visiting only on weekends. Margaret accepts his decisions without question, feeling content in her newfound marital status. In March, Aunt Eliza writes to announce a sudden victory: Lemorne vs. Huell is settled in her favor, completely baffling her lawyers. That very night, Margaret has a vivid dream recalling the late-night confrontation at Newport. Hearing the clock strike two, she awakens with the horrifying realization that her husband manipulated the trial and married her purely to secure the contested fortune.

How It Unfolds

A summons to Newport Margaret leaves her meager teaching job in Waterbury to attend to her wealthy, litigious Aunt Eliza in New York and Newport. She tolerates her aunt's overbearing routine, accepting a fine wardrobe and daily carriage rides through the coastal fog as part of her unwritten duty.

An encounter on the road While driving toward the glen, Margaret crosses paths with Edward Uxbridge, the master legal mind representing her aunt’s courtroom enemy. Their eyes lock as his horse swerves close, sparking a quiet, intense dynamic that continues through chance meetings across the resort.

Declarations at the ball At an opulent hotel dance, Uxbridge isolates Margaret in a secluded window frame and asserts control over her future. He confesses his sudden affection, snaps her borrowed fan in a dynamic display of passion, and demands her hand in marriage.

The late-night bargain Uxbridge escorts Margaret back to her aunt's parlor, where Aunt Eliza openly calculates Margaret's financial worth against the pending verdict of sixty thousand dollars. Uxbridge agrees to the marriage with full knowledge of the financial stakes tied to the lawsuit.

A distant winter After a quiet November wedding, Uxbridge instructs Margaret to reside in Waterbury for the winter while he manages his affairs. Margaret passively submits to his schedule, enjoying his weekly visits while remaining isolated from his professional life.

The disturbing awakening Aunt Eliza writes to announce an unexpected triumph in court, having soundly defeated Lemorne. Margaret experiences a sudden, horrifying nightmare that piecing together Uxbridge's hidden motives, waking to the bleak truth of her husband's deceit.

The People

• Margaret Huell wants autonomy and relief from the drab poverty of her life as a music instructor. What stands in her way is her total financial dependence on others and a lifelong habit of repressing her own desires. She begins as a passive, obedient niece and ends as a married woman shocked into a devastating realization about her husband's true character.
• Edward Uxbridge wants professional victory, financial wealth, and total possession of Margaret. Standing in his way is the complex litigation against Aunt Eliza's estate. He transitions from a stern, detached legal strategist into an ardent suitor, only to reveal himself as a ruthless manipulator who traded his client's case for a fortune.
• Aunt Eliza Huell wants to triumph over her legal rivals, control those around her, and preserve her family's ancestral wealth. Her physical frailty and the unpredictable nature of the legal system stand in her path. She remains consistently cynical, calculating, and domineering throughout, using Margaret as a pawn in her financial games.

In Its Own Voice

"Every person's individuality was sacred to me, from the fact, perhaps, that my own individuality had never been respected by any person with whom I had any relation..."

Margaret reflects on her lifelong emotional isolation while observing the intense, watchful dynamic between her aunt and Uxbridge.

"'I am a runaway. What do you think of the Fugitive Slave Bill?' 'I approve of returning property to its owners.'"

During an unannounced Sunday meeting near the ocean, Margaret playfully queries Uxbridge, who replies with a revealing statement regarding ownership and control.

"As it struck I said, 'My husband is a scoundrel,' and woke with a start."

In the story's haunting final line, Margaret awakens from a recurring nightmare after discovering her aunt's legal victory, suddenly recognizing the truth behind her marriage.

What It's Really About

Lemorne Versus Huell investigates the cold commodification of romance within nineteenth-century society. Beneath its surface as a seaside love story, the text exposes how personal autonomy, marriage, and emotional intimacy are routinely subordinated to property laws and financial greed. Stoddard contrasts Margaret's passive desire for selfhood against the predatory ambitions of those around her. Both Aunt Eliza and Uxbridge view relationships purely as legal or financial transactions. The narrative argues that social ambition and economic desperation can trap young women in subtle forms of servitude, where even apparent affection serves as a cover for legal corruption and calculated self-interest.

Why Read It Today

This concise short story offers a refreshingly unsentimental glance at 19th-century American romance. Elizabeth Stoddard rejects Victorian melodrama in favor of sharp psychological realism, dark irony, and atmospheric tension. Modern readers will appreciate her concise prose, dry wit, and subversion of standard gothic tropes—where the true danger is not a haunted estate, but systemic greed and emotional control.

The text presents few barriers beyond its period setting and brief legal terminology. Its brevity makes for a fast, compelling read, though readers must pay close attention to subtle dialogue and recurring motifs to catch the underlying tension. Stoddard's crisp handling of power dynamics between men and women remains strikingly modern, leaving a lasting impression of quiet betrayal that lingers long after the final page.