"But you were?"
"Yes."
"Do you mean to tell me that you were secretly married?"
"It is so, uncle."
"I never heard of a secret marriage the motive for which did not spring from the man. It was your husband's wish that your marriage should be kept secret?"
"For a time only, uncle; until his father's return from abroad."
"Of course--family reasons."
"Yes."
"The usual story. What difference would it have made if you had been married with your father's consent and knowledge? There would have been less duplicity in the affair."
"Uncle, it is difficult sometimes to see how things come about. It happened as I have told you. It might not if we had consulted my dear father beforehand."