“That was the way with Anglesea, I suspect. He was a hypocrite in his own country; but as soon as he came abroad he cut loose and kicked up his heels—I mean he threw off all the restraints of honor and conscience,” explained Wynnette.
Odalite resumed her task, and read of Anglesea’s birth, his entrance into Eton, and afterward at Oxford, his succession to his estates, his entrance into the army, his marriage to Lady Mary Merland, the birth of his son, and the death of his wife.
There she stopped. She did not see fit to read the paragraph relating to herself; and to prevent her sisters from seeing it, she rolled up the paper and put it into her pocket.
They did not suspect that there had been any mention made of his attempted marriage to Odalite, far less that it had been recorded there as an accomplished fact; but they wondered why his marriage to the lady of ‘Wild Cats’ had not been mentioned.
“And is there not a word said about his Californian nuptials?” demanded Wynnette.
“No, not a word,” replied Odalite.
“Ah! you see, he wasn’t proud of that second wife! She wasn’t an earl’s daughter!”
“I wonder how Mrs. Anglesea will take the news of her husband’s death, when she hears of it,” mused Elva.
“Ah!” breathed Wynnette.
Their talk was interrupted by the entrance of their father, who had just come in from his long walk.