did not know the nature of the secret. There had
been an understanding, of which he did not even yet know the nature,
between his wife and that base baronet. And then the terrible truth
of his memory added to his wounds. He thought of all the words
that had been spoken, and which he felt ought to have given her an
opportunity of telling the truth,--and would have done so had she not
purposely kept the secret. He had playfully asked her how it had been
that she had loved no other man, and then she had remained silent in
a manner which he now declared to himself to be equal to a falsehood.
And when he had been perfectly free with his own story, she had still
kept back hers. She had had her story, and had resolved that he
should not know it, even though he had been so open with his. He no
doubt had been open at a time when he had no right to expect her to
be equally so; but when the time did come then, then she had been a
traitor to him. When accepting his caresses, and returning them with
all a young wife's ardour, even at that moment she had been a traitor
to him. Though in his arms she had thought,--she must have continued
to think,--of some unholy compact which existed between her and Sir
Francis Geraldine. And even now she had not told him the nature of
that compact. Even now she might be corresponding with Sir Francis
or seeing him for aught that he knew to the contrary. How was it
possible that he should pardon a wife who had sinned against him as
she had sinned?

And yet he was so far aware of his own weakness, as to admit to
himself that he would have taken her back to him if she had answered
his last letter in a contrite spirit and with affectionate words.
He would have endeavoured to forgive if not to forget, and would
have allowed himself to fall into the loving intimacy of domestic
life,--but that she was cold and indifferent, as well as treacherous.
So he told himself, keeping his wrath hot, though at the same time
his love nearly mastered him. But in truth he knew nothing of things
as they really were. He had made the mistake of drawing a false
conclusion from some words written by Sir Francis, and then of
looking upon those words as containing the whole truth. Sir Francis
had no doubt intended him to think that he and Cecilia Holt had come
to some rupture in their engagement from other than the real cause.
He had intended Mr. Western to believe that they had both agreed, and
that they had merely resolved b