malevolence

Volume 6 of Clarissa really makes it evident what a bad guy Lovelace really is.  He goes through endless contrivances to keep Clarissa confined in the house with his spies.  He uses the pretext of a house fire to burst in upon her at night.  He intercepts Clarissa's letters and controls the narrative that is presented to her.  She has now seen his true colors and has incredible difficulty getting away from him.

Finally, toward the end of this volume, she is able to sneak away and discovers exactly what sort of nonsense he is up to.  Will he recapture her?  Will she be reunited with her family?

Now that things are happening, the story is moving more quickly.  I am still amazed that it is 9 volumes though.