“Who is responsible for that?” demanded Mrs. Force, who was the first to find her voice.
“The reckless braggart who has gone to the devil, I suppose! No one else could be,” said Abel Force, indignantly.
“You are right. No one but Anglesea could have been the originator of such a falsehood.”
“And here is no mention made at all of the real second marriage and of the real widow; whom, by the way, he must have married within a few weeks after the death of his wife. Yet! let us see! Great Heaven! unless there is a misprint, there has been an infamous crime committed, and a heinous wrong done to that Californian widow, whose marriage with Col. Anglesea was registered to have taken place on August 1, 185—, full six weeks before the death of Anglesea’s wife, which took place on August 25th! And in that case—yes, in that case the diabolical villain had the legal right, if not the moral right, to marry our daughter! Great Heaven! how imperfect are the laws of our highest civilization, when men have the legal right to do that which is morally wrong!”
“Oh! oh! I will never acknowledge the validity of that marriage ceremony! I will never call myself that man’s widow, or wear a thread of mourning for him!” exclaimed Odalite, who could be very brave now that her mother’s great enemy was dead, and her mother forever safe from his malignity.
“You need not, my dear. Nor need the poor Californian woman ever suspect that any darker wrong than the robbery of her money has been done her. Why, either, should we be so excited over this discovery? It is no new villainy that has come to light. It is simply that he really wronged the Californian widow instead of you. The man is dead. Let us not harbor malice against the dead. He can harm us no more,” said Abel, in his wish to soothe the excited feelings of his wife and daughter. But ah! he knew nothing of the greater cause those two unhappy ladies had had for their detestation of their deadly enemy.
But now he was gone forever, and they were delivered from his deviltries. It was
“The thrill of a great deliverance”
that so deeply moved them both. All felt it, even Mr. Force, who soon arose and went out for a walk to reflect coolly over the news of the morning.
Elfrida and Odalite went into the house and tried to occupy themselves with the question of luncheon and other household matters, but they could not interest themselves in any work; they could think of nothing but of the blessed truth that a great burden had been lifted from their hearts, a great darkness had passed away from their minds.