"It is a family secret," replied Aunt Leth despairingly.
"It will tell against her if you refuse to answer. I am here in the cause of justice."
"Of justice?"
"Yes, of justice. You refuse, then, to say whether she left her home in Parksides with her father's consent?"
"I do not refuse. Her father was not kind to her; he turned her from his house."
"Then when she came here they were not upon friendly terms. It is the construction which every person would place upon it. Have you any objection to say why he turned her from his house?"
"He wished to force her into a hateful marriage; she would not consent."
"Were you and her father upon friendly terms?"
"We were not."
"You harboured her, then, against his wish?"