Oh, and keep in mind that Tracy is more weak and desperate than mustache-twirling Evil.

I'm pretty sure the legal system would look dimly on such a thing. The scandal alone would be immense--no matter that he intruded in her room, the very fact that such a scandalous incident occurred would mark her as one of "those" sorts of women. Because after all, if Tracy has any kind of public name as a gentleman--whatever his private activities--he must have been lured/"driven to it" to be there in the first place. The social world would only have her word for it, after all, and do they have any reason to believe her?

For Anna's mindset, if she's not familiar with the type of gun, there's very good odds of it going off without her intending to, especially if she's frightened. (Trying to think of the poundage necessary for the trigger of a early 19th century handgun and how likely accidental shooting would be.) Unless you want her to be the type who would pull the trigger deliberately. Even then, the modern case would be manslaughter, not murder. She might not use the word "murderer" in her own mind, but "killer" would be there.

The modern reader would most likely let her off lightly in those circumstances. Buffistas would go "You go, sister!", but more average readers might want her to at least have remorse for being forced to take a life.

He's not especially well-liked. He's a "gentleman volunteer," i.e. a man of fairly good family but without enough money to buy a commission. Such men could get a recommendation to a regiment and essentially fight/train with the soldiers and mess with the officers until such time there was an opening for a lieutenant, and then if they'd proven themselves they'd be given the commission. Anyway, in his case it's become obvious he's basically a washout, hence his desperation and willingness to stoop to blackmail or rape.

For Anna's mindset, if she's not familiar with the type of gun, there's very good odds of it going off without her intending to, especially if she's frightened.

Thing is, as the story stands, she's familiar with the gun. Earlier in the story, she has to shoot a pistol in an unambiguous self-defense situation, botches it badly, and so takes the first opportunity she can find to learn how to fire a pistol properly.

Ooh--here's an idea. Anna has a cousin who's a major in her dead husband's regiment, and the way it's currently set up in my head, Anna is staying in the same house as her cousin and his wife, and if I go with the shooting option, they'd be among the first on the scene after hearing the shot. Would it make sense for them to believe, or pretend to believe, whatever story she chooses to tell, since she's family, and find a way to cover it up and hustle her off to England asap?

Still not sure I want to do it this way, since it darkens the story up a hell of a lot. OTOH, I tend to err on the side of being too nicey-nice, so maybe I should run with it.

So, not quite a gentleman. More blame attached to him, but I still see a situation of "no decent woman would allow herself to get in such a situation." Which makes no sense, but never did. Unless Tracy has someone who would push the point, the authorities would probably decide to let the matter go "to spare the scandal." Whispers would still go 'round.

I haven't read the work, so I don't know if Anna would castigate herself overmuch. I can see a whipsawing between "I had to defend myself!" and "It says 'Thou shall not kill,' and, oh, there was so much blood, and he whimpered and it was horrible."

HOw isolated is the house? Could we have a lovely game of Hide The Body?

edit: IE, dump him in an alley behind a convenient den of iniquity?

I'd have to isolate it more than it is on my current mental map to make it work, but that could be done.

And I think she'd definitely have some serious remorse over it--that's why it'd make the rest of the book so much darker, and why I'm not sure yet whether I'll do it.

DH read my original post over my shoulder and thinks I should have the gun go off accidentally. Maybe it's the Buffista in me, but I just don't like, "Oops, I shot you!" nearly so much as, "You threatened my lover--DIE," even though the former is simpler to work with in a lot of ways.

It's a cliche, Susan, but if he tried to wrestle the gun away from her and it went off accidentally, there's no way she could actually be blamed, is there? It would still look odd, there'd be a scandal, because what was he doing in her room? But it would ease her own conscience a bit if it was accidental, even if convenient.

If you decide to go with the cliche, then what you need to do is write the scene --or possibly their whole relationship--in a way that isn't a cliche. Which would be the challenge, I'd think.

I just saw what your DH said, and I seem to be agreeing with him. But I think you can take the snake's desperation far enough to make him jump for the gun, thus negating her familiarity with it.