The first consideration which now naturally occurred to me was this.

Would Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite hold to his engagement, after what his

lawyer had discovered for him?

It depended entirely on his pecuniary position, of which I knew nothing.

If that position was not a desperate one, it would be well worth his

while to marry Miss Verinder for her income alone. If, on the other

hand, he stood in urgent need of realising a large sum by a given

time, then Lady Verinder's Will would exactly meet the case, and would

preserve her daughter from falling into a scoundrel's hands.

In the latter event, there would be no need for me to distress Miss

Rachel, in the first days of her mourning for her mother, by an

immediate revelation of the truth. In the former event, if I remained

silent, I should be conniving at a marriage which would make her

miserable for life.

My doubts ended in my calling at the hotel in London, at which I knew

Mrs. Ablewhite and Miss Verinder to be staying. They informed me

that they were going to Brighton the next day, and that an unexpected

obstacle prevented Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite from accompanying them. I at

once proposed to take his place. While I was only thinking of Rachel

Verinder, it was possible to hesitate. When I actually saw her, my mind

was made up directly, come what might of it, to tell her the truth.

I found my opportunity, when I was out walking with her, on the day

after my arrival.

"May I speak to you," I asked, "about your marriage engagement?"

"Yes," she said, indifferently, "if you have nothing more interesting to

talk about."

"Will you forgive an old friend and servant of your family, Miss Rachel,

if I venture on asking whether your heart is set on this marriage?"

"I am marrying in despair, Mr. Bruff--on the chance of dropping into

some sort of stagnant happiness which may reconcile me to my life."

Strong language! and suggestive of something below the surface, in the

shape of a romance. But I had my own object in view, and I declined (as

we lawyers say) to pursue the question into its side issues.

"Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite can hardly be of your way of thinking," I said.

"HIS heart must be set on the marriage at any rate?"

"He says so, and I suppose I ought to believe him. He would hardly marry

me, after what I have owned to him, unless he was fond of me."

Poor thing! the bare idea of a man marrying her for his own selfish and

mercenary ends had never entered her head. The task I had set myself

began to look like a harder task than I had bargained for.




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