Tom is Christine's father. He is my husband. You may well say,
God help both of us. But, David, while I cannot live with him, I
intend to remain his wife to the end. I am ready to promise anything
to him if he will go away. I will give him all of the money I received
for my share of the hateful business. He must accept it quietly,
sanely. It is for _her_ sake, and he must be made to see it. The
world knows that I ran away to be married, but it has forgotten the
circumstances. The general belief is that my husband died years and
years ago, and that I have lived abroad ever since. There is one thing
to his credit, David. I shall not forget it. When he was arrested, he
thought of Christine and--and--well, he gave an assumed name, an
alias, to the police. Colonel Grand kept his own silence, and for
years he has held this over me as a threat. I have had many letters
from him, believe me. Christine is no longer the little, unheard-of
circus rider. She is--well, she is a _personage_. Do you understand?"
He nodded his head. She went on hurriedly.
"Tell Tom I _want_ to see him. Tell him I am ready to discuss
everything with him.
Pages:
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452