The cracked watch glass

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

When Mr Venn went upstairs, Daniel lifted the silver watch from its cloth. He had been told to polish the case before the customer returned, and he held it carefully beneath the lamp. A loose tool slipped from the bench and struck his wrist. The watch jerked from his fingers, and its glass struck the edge of the table and broke with a small, decisive sound.

Daniel gathered the pieces into his palm. For a moment he considered placing the watch back in its drawer and saying that he had found it that way. The thought seemed to offer him a door, but the door narrowed as soon as he looked towards the stairs. He laid the broken glass beside the watch and waited for his master to come down.

Mrs Alden arrived before Mr Venn had returned. She asked for the watch, explaining that it had belonged to her husband. Daniel lifted it from the bench, holding it so that the damaged face was turned away. Then he told her what had happened. She did not raise her voice. She only touched the crack with one finger and said that she could have endured a broken watch more easily than a false account of it.

Mr Venn came back and examined the watch. He said that the glass could be replaced, though the work would take several days. Mrs Alden left it on the bench. Daniel expected her to leave angrily, but she paused at the door and said that she would rather have the repair made by someone who had told her the truth. When she had gone, Daniel returned to the lamp. The watch was still damaged, but the room no longer seemed to him quite so narrow.

“The passage successfully presents honesty as difficult but necessary.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.