her father.

Of course if she did complain to the Dean she would tell the Dean
everything. So he told himself. Now, when a man assumes the divine
superiority of an all-governing husband his own hands should be quite
clean. Lord George's hands were by no means clean. It was not, perhaps,
his own fault that they were dirty. He was able at any rate to tell
himself that the fault had not been his. But there was that undoubted
love-letter from Mrs. Houghton. If the Dean were to question him about
that he could not lie. And though he would assure himself that the
fault had all been with the lady, he could not excuse himself by that
argument in discussing the matter with the Dean. He was in such trouble
that he feared to drive his wife to retaliation; and yet he must do his
duty. His honour and her honour must be his first consideration. If she
would only promise him not willingly to see Captain De Baron there
should be an end of it, and he would allow her to stay the allotted
time in London; but if she would not do this he thought that he must
face the Dean and all his terrors.

But he hardly knew his wife--was hardly aware of the nature of her
feelings. When she spoke of appealing to her father, no idea crossed
her mind of complaining of her husband's infidelity. She would seek
protection for herself, and would be loud enough in protesting against
the slanderous tongues of those who had injured her. She would wage war
to the knife against the Marquis, and against Lady Susanna, and against
Augusta Mildmay, and would call upon her father to assist her in that
warfare; but she would not condescend to allude to a circumstance
which, if it were an offence against her, she had pardoned, but as to
which, in her heart of hearts, she believed her husband to be, if not
innocent, at least not very guilty. She despised Adelaide Houghton too
much to think that her husband had really loved such a woman, and was
too confident in herself to doubt his love for many minutes. She could
hate Adelaide Houghton for making the attempt, and yet could believe
that the attempt had been futile.

Nevertheless when she was alone she thought much of Mrs. Houghton's
letter. Throughout her interview with her husband she had thought of
it, but had determined from the very first that she would not cast it
in his teeth. She would do nothing ungenerous. But was it not singular
that he should be able to upbraid her for her conduct, for conduct in
which ther