Esmé

The Baroness recounts a story of a hunt in which she and an acquaintance called Constance Broddle become separated from the main pack and encounter an escaped hyena. They try to find their way back and are followed by the hyena, to which the Baroness gives the name “Esmé”. At one point it seizes and then kills a small gypsy child they meet along the way. The women’s dilemma about what to do with Esmé is resolved when a car appears and runs it over. Passing it off as their pet dog, they ask the car’s owner for help in burying it. He later sends the Baroness a diamond brooch by way of an apology, which leads to a rift in the friendship when she sells it but refuses to split the proceeds with Constance.