"Till after the divorce, I mean."
"Does your cousin intend to apply for a divorce?" asked the happy suitor.
"Bernadette wants one, and he's ready to do anything she wishes."
A long pause fell upon the company—evidently a hostile pause.
"And will the other man go through a form of marriage with her?" asked Ronald.
"Of course he'll marry her. To do Oliver Wyse justice, we needn't be afraid about that."
"Afraid!" Anna exclaimed very low. Mrs. Lisle shook her grey head sadly. "Unhappy creature!" she murmured.
Arthur had been bred in this atmosphere, but coming back to it now he found it strange and unfamiliar. Different from the air of London, profoundly different from the air of Hilsey itself! There they had never thought of Bernadette as an unfortunate woman or an unhappy creature. Their attitude towards her had been quite different. As for his own part in the transaction—well, it was almost amusing to think what would happen at home if the truth of it were told. He had a mischievous impulse to tell Ronald—but, no, he must not risk its getting to his mother's ears.
"And they're abroad together!" mused Mrs. Lisle.
"They're on his yacht—so the lawyers said—somewhere in the Mediterranean."