“Certainly; he has told me that.”
“Aveline has many admirers. It would afford me great pleasure to see her united to some scion of the aristocracy—somebody in her own sphere. This is my most earnest desire, and this is sure to come to pass if she can be released from the odious bonds which bear so heavily upon her.”
“If she desires to marry again we must obtain a divorce.”
“Precisely; that is what I desire.”
“Ah, that’s another matter,” observed the lawyer. “It can only be obtained upon one or more of these pleas—cruelty, adultery, or desertion.”
“Well, can’t you plead one of these?”
“Yes, but we have to offer sufficient proof, and this we are unable to do, as far as I can see at present.”
“Hang it, Chicknell, surely there must be some way of getting over this difficulty?” exclaimed the earl, in a tone of irritation. “It must be done.”
“I don’t see how. Certainly it would be an unopposed suit. Gatliffe would not offer any objection.”
“I will settle a handsome annuity on him for the remainder of his life. Tell him that.”