did not believe it; but Dr. Mair persisted
he was right, and the horror of the situation grew upon me. I told all to
Carr, and took him up to Dr. Mair. They discussed Scottish law and
consulted law-books; and the truth, so far, became apparent. Dr. Mair was
sorry for me; he saw I had not erred knowingly in marrying Maude. As to
myself, I was helpless, prostrated. I asked the doctor, if it were really
true, why the fact had been kept from me: he replied that he supposed I
knew it, and that delicacy alone had caused him to abstain from alluding
to it in his letters. He had been very angry when Gordon told him, he
said; grew half frightened as to consequences; feared he should get into
trouble for allowing me to be so entrapped in his house; and he and
Gordon parted at once. And then Dr. Mair asked a question which I could
not very well answer, why, if I did not know she was my wife, I had paid
so large a sum for Agnes. He had been burying the affair in silence, as
he had assumed I was doing; and it was only the announcement of my
marriage with Maude in the newspapers that aroused him. He had thought
I was acting this bad part deliberately; and he went off at once to
Hartledon in anger; found I had gone abroad; and now came to me on my
return, still in anger, saying at first that he should proceed against
me, and obtain justice for Agnes. When he found how utterly ignorant of
wrong I had been, his tone changed; he was truly grieved and concerned
for me. Nothing was decided: except that Dr. Mair, in his compassion
towards Lady Maude, promised not to be the first to take legal steps.
It seemed that there was only him to fear: George Gordon was reported
to have gone to Australia; the old housekeeper was dead; Agnes was
deranged. Dr. Mair left, and Carr and I sat on till midnight. Carr took
what I thought a harsh view of the matter; he urged me to separate from
Maude--"

"I think you should have done so for her sake," came the gentle
interruption.

"For her sake! the words Carr used. But, Anne, surely there were two
sides to the question. If I disclosed the facts, and put her away from
me, what was she? Besides, the law might be against me--Scotland's
iniquitous law; but in Heaven's sight _Maude_ was my wife, not the other.
So I temporized, hoping that time might bring about a relief, for Dr.
Mair told me that Miss Waterlow's health was failing. However, she
lived on, and--"

Lady Hartledon started up, her face blanching.