ich seemed extraordinary in such a feeble, flabby person.

'You know that I told my husband lies,' exclaimed Monica, 'so you think
I am never to be trusted. I did tell him lies; I can't deny it, and I
am ashamed of it. But I am not a deceitful woman--I can say that
boldly. I love the truth better than falsehood. If it weren't for that
I should never have left home. A deceitful woman, in my
circumstances--you don't understand them--would have cheated her
husband into forgiving her--such a husband as mine. She would have
calculated the most profitable course. I left my husband because it was
hateful to me to be with a man for whom I had lost every trace of
affection. In keeping away from him I am acting honestly. But I have
told you that I am also afraid of his making a discovery. I want him to
believe--when the time comes--'

She broke off.

'Then, Monica, you ought to make known to him what you have been
concealing. If you are telling the truth, that confession can't be
anything very dreadful.'

'Alice, I am willing to make an agreement. If my husband will promise
never to come near Clevedon until I send for him I will go and live
there with you and Virgie.'

'He has promised that, darling,' cried Miss Madden delightedly.

'Not to me. He has only said that he will make his home in London for a
time: that means he would come whenever he wished, if it were only to
speak to you and Virgie. But he must undertake never to come near until
I give him permission. If he will promise this, and keep his word, I
pledge myself to let him know the whole truth in less than a year.
Whether I live or die, he shall be told the truth in less than a year.'

Before going to bed Alice wrote and dispatched a few lines to
Widdowson, requesting an interview with him as soon as possible. She
would come to his house at any hour he liked to appoint. The next
afternoon brought a reply, and that same evening Miss Madden went to
Herne Hill. As a result of what passed there, a day or two saw the
beginning of the long-contemplated removal to Clevedon. Widdowson found
a lodging in the neighbourhood of his old home; he had engaged never to
cross the bounds of Somerset until he received his wife's permission.

As soon as this compact was established Monica wrote to Miss Nunn. A
short submissive letter. 'I am about to leave London, and before I go I
very much wish to see you. Will you allow me to call at some hour when
I could speak to you in priv