Traveling with unsympathetic people; absent from England, no one could say for how long; married, when she did return, to some rich man whom she hated--would she, could she, contemplate that prospect? She contemplated it through tears; she contemplated it to an accompaniment of sighs, kisses, and protestations--she trembled, hesitated, gave way. At an appointed hour of the coming night, when her father would be in the smoking-room, and Mrs.
Margery would be in bed, Cosway was to knock at the door in the lane once more; leaving time to make all the necessary arrangements in the interval.
The one pressing necessity, under these circumstances, was to guard against the possibility of betrayal and surprise. Cosway discreetly alluded to the unsolved mysteries of the invitation and the message. "Have you taken anybody into our confidence?" he asked.
Adela answered with some embarrassment. "Only one person," She said--"dear Miss Benshaw.""Who is Miss Benshaw?"