"I believe you"re equipped with X-rays instead of eyes, Kent-Lauriston, for you were smoking down here and couldn"t have seen me!"
"No, but I saw the ladies--afterwards."
"To speak to?"
"Oh, no. One of them at least has a rooted aversion to me. I know too much."
"What were they doing?"
"Pulling each other"s hair out, I should judge, or its equivalent in polite society. What did you learn from the parson?"
"That he had not married Kingsland to Lady Isabelle; that Kingsland had been married to somebody; and a refusal to say that that somebody was Miss Fitzgerald, which was tantamount to an admission of the fact."
"Exactly, and what did you say to the young ladies?"
"I asked Miss Fitzgerald if she was Lieutenant Kingsland"s wife?"
"And she denied it?"
"Absolutely."
"What else?"
"I charged Lady Isabelle with not having married Kingsland."
"And what was her answer?"
"I didn"t wait to receive it."
"Had you done so, she would have denied it likewise."
"You think so?"
"I am certain of it, and, if it"s any satisfaction to you, I can tell you that by your action you ensured Miss Fitzgerald one of the worst quarters of an hour at her Ladyship"s hands that she is likely to experience for a very long time."
"But Mr. Lambert a.s.sured me solemnly, that he did not perform the ceremony between Lady Isabelle and the Lieutenant."
"He was quite right in doing so."
"But they can"t all be right!"
"My dear fellow," said Kent-Lauriston, "it is very seldom, in this complex age, that anyone is wholly right or wholly wrong. All these people, except Miss Fitzgerald, know a part of the truth, and have spoken honestly according to their lights. She alone knows it all, and, believe me, she is much too clever to tell a lie on so important a point. If she told you she was not married to Lieutenant Kingsland, you may implicitly believe her."
"Do you know that it is the truth?"
"Yes, because I telegraphed to the man who has charge of the issue of special licences, and have received a line from him, to the effect that one has been issued in the last few days, for Lieutenant Kingsland and Lady Isabelle McLane."
"Then you convict Mr. Lambert of deception?"
"Not at all. If he told you he had not married Lady Isabelle to the Lieutenant, he told you what he believed to be the truth."
"But is it possible that he could have married them without knowing it?"
"It seems that it was possible."
"How could he make such a mistake?"
"A man who never makes a mistake makes little or nothing in this world."
"And Miss Fitzgerald signed in the place of the bride, to divert suspicion?"
"It seems impossible to suppose that she would commit herself in that way," said Kent-Lauriston.
"But the register proves that she did," reported Stanley.
"Ye-es. It rather savours of the paradox. Perhaps we"d better content ourselves with the facts that Lady Isabelle did marry Kingsland, and Miss Fitzgerald did not. How it was accomplished does not immediately concern us, and, as I fear no very creditable means were used, we"d better not try to find out what they were, especially as we"ve more serious matters to consider."
"You mean----"
"I mean the charge unconsciously made by Madame Darcy."
"I feared you were going to speak of that."
"True, it is an unpleasant business; but you must remember that you owe it to Miss Fitzgerald to ask her for a definite answer, or to give her some explanation for declining to do so."
"You think there"s no escape from it?"
"None that a gentleman can take."
"What do you advise me to do?"
"Find out where you stand in the first place."
"How I stand?"
"Yes. At least one serious charge has been made against the woman whom you propose to make your wife. If true--for your own sake, for your father"s sake, you must surrender her. If false, you are equally bound, by honour and chivalry, to disprove it."
"How can I do this?"
"The charge to which I refer is based on the direct evidence of certain letters. See them, and judge for yourself."
"That is easier said than done."
"Here they are," replied Kent-Lauriston, handing him a little packet.
"You have seen Madame Darcy?"
"Yes."