'Oh, my God!' cried the bishop. 'Oh, God most merciful!'
The little old lady was trembling violently. She thought that the bishop had suddenly gone out of his mind. Nor was she reassured when he stood up and looked at her with a face, down which the tears were streaming. Never had Miss Whichello seen a man weeping before, and the sight terrified her much more than an outburst of anger would have done. She looked at the bishop, he looked at her, and they were both ashy white, both overcome with nervous emotion.
After a moment the bishop opened a drawer and took out a bundle of papers. Out of these he selected the marriage certificate of his wife and Krant, and compared it with the certificate of Pharaoh Bosvile and Ann Whichello.
'Thank God!' he said again, in a tremulous voice. 'This man as Bosvile married your sister in 1869, as Krant he married Mrs Pendle in 1870.'
'Married Mrs Pendle!' shrieked Miss Whichello, darting forward.
'Yes. She was a Mrs Krant when I married her, and as her husband was reported dead, I believed her to be his widow.'
'But she was not his widow!'
'No, for Krant was Jentham, and Jentham was alive after my marriage.'
'I don't mean that,' cried Miss Whichello, laying a finger on her sister's certificate, 'but Jentham as Bosvile married Annie in 1869.'
'He married my wife in October 1870,' said the bishop, breathlessly.