“Oh, came into a fortune, did she? I see, that accounts for it in some measure. And what has become of her?”

“She is all right.”

“And has she got a worthy and honourable gentleman for a husband?”

“She has.”

“And now before I go—​we shan’t see each other again, I expect, not this side of the grave—​do answer one or two other questions. How did John’s wife become possessed of a fortune? Did she inherit it?”

“I suppose so.”

“But all her relatives were poor—​so I always understood.”

“Most of them were, but that’s not to the purpose. Mrs. Bristow, as I have already intimated, had enough to support an establishment at the west end of the town. She did not like living by herself, and I became her companion. Is your curiosity now satisfied?”

“Yes. Where is she now?”

“Who?”