'She cannot have married again,' said Mr Haredale.
'Not without our knowledge surely, sir.'
'She may have done so, in the fear that it would lead, if known, to some
objection or estrangement. Suppose she married incautiously--it is not
improbable, for her existence has been a lonely and monotonous one for
many years--and the man turned out a ruffian, she would be anxious to
screen him, and yet would revolt from his crimes. This might be. It
bears strongly on the whole drift of her discourse yesterday, and would
quite explain her conduct. Do you suppose Barnaby is privy to these
circumstances?'
'Quite impossible to say, sir,' returned the locksmith, shaking his head
again: 'and next to impossible to find out from him. If what you suppose
is really the case, I tremble for the lad--a notable person, sir, to put
to bad uses--'
'It is not possible, Varden,' said Mr Haredale, in a still lower tone of
voice than he had spoken yet, 'that we have been blinded and deceived by
this woman from the beginning? It is not possible that this connection
was formed in her husband's lifetime, and led to his and my brother's--'
'Good God, sir,' cried Gabriel, interrupting him, 'don't entertain such
dark thoughts for a moment.
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