Of course at
this he went at once.
The next morning Aylmer at his hotel received a little note asking him
to come round and see Edith, while the others were out.
It was there, in the cool, shady room, that Edith showed him the
letter.
'Good God!' he exclaimed, looking simply wild with joy. 'This is too
marvellous!--too heavenly! Do you realise it? Edith, don't you see he
wants you to make him free? You will be my wife--that's
settled--that's fixed up.'
He looked at her in delight almost too great for expression.
Edith knew she was going to have a hard task now. She was pale, but
looked completely composed. She said:
'You're wrong, Aylmer. I'm not going to set him free.'
'What?' he almost shouted. 'Are you mad? What! Stick to him when he
doesn't want you! Ruin the wretched girl's life!'
'That remains to be seen. I don't believe everything in the letter. The
children--'
'Edith!' he exclaimed. 'What--when he doesn't _want_ the children--when
he deserts them?'
'He is their father.'
'Their father! Then, if you were married to a criminal who implored you
to divorce him you wouldn't, because he was their father!'
'Bruce is not a criminal. He is not bad. He is a fool. He has behaved
idiotically, and I can never care for him in the way I used to, but I
mean to give him a chance. I'm not going to jump at his first real
folly to get rid of him.... Poor Bruce!'
She laughed.
Aylmer threw himself down in an arm-chair, staring at her.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193