One of the more interesting aspects of this section of reading is the section where Lady Audley requests that Phoebe does her a favor and then gives her time off and extra pay for completing this (P. 61). While the narrator does not specify what exactly Lady Audley requests of Phoebe, it is obvious it is something she does not want others to know. Because of the pattern Lady Audley seems to be taking, where she is consistently avoiding George, it could be assumed that Phoebe was the one who sent the telegram requesting Lady Audley to visit her sick friend. I think that Lady Audley is attempting to avoid George, because she is actually Helen, his late wife.
Overall, this passage relates to the entire novel because it sets up another way that Lady Audley is attempting to avoid George. We do not know for sure if Phoebe sent the telegraph at Lady Audley’s request, but due to the secrecy of whatever the request was, and the surprise Lady Audley had when Mr. Audley offered to go with her, we can assume that she knew this was a fake trip. There is a pattern throughout this book, where Lady Audley is exhausted, or ill, or off on a trip and she avoids seeing George. She does not seem to avoid seeing Robert, however she does avoid George. If Lady Audley is George’s late wife, she could be hiding to enjoy her now extravagant life and she would rather not lose that experience.
The conspiracy that Lady Audley is actually Helen is really interesting, and is being proven more and more as we continue to read. On page 124, as Robert is discussing what circumstantial evidence is (relating to the disappearance of George) to Lady Audley, she faints. This intense physical reaction displays that Lady Audley may have some sort of connection to George’s disappearance. Similar to her mailing the letter, she goes through, either voluntarily or on purpose, extreme measures to avoid seeing and talking about George. This refusal to be around George in any light displays what you originally said: she has some sort of connection to George, because why else would she go through so many lengths to avoid this topic?