“I should have thought that the old man would kick him out of his house—a blackguard who was fool enough to get caught. But I’ve had experience of fathers—mostly Scotch—who believe so desperately in the sacredness of the marriage bond that they would force a woman to live with the man she has married even though he has just returned from penal servitude for trying to murder her.”
“So far as I can gather from my wife, her father is something like that.”
“My wife!” murmured Mr. Liscomb, smiling very gently, when his client had gone away. “My wife!”
CHAPTER XXIX
Jack gave what he considered to be an adequate account to Priscilla of his interview with Mr. Liscomb. He did not, however, think it necessary to tell her what that gentleman had said respecting the wisdom of their separating until the case or cases should be heard, nor did he do more than hint at the difficulties, which Mr. Liscomb had rather more than hinted at, in the way of proving the profligacy of Marcus Blaydon. But he thought it well to prepare her for the inevitable law’s delay; and he was gratified at the sensible way she received the information that three months would probably elapse before the case could come on for hearing.
“It seems a long time, Jack,” she said. “But I don’t think that it would be possible for us to have everything ready to go before the judge much sooner. I have been thinking over the whole matter while you have been away, and I see clearly, I think, that we shall have trouble in proving that he went away straight from the gaol to that woman of your surmise. How are we to get hold of Captain Lyman? and when we do get in touch with him, how are we to get him to tell us all that he knows?”
“Yes, all that will take time,” said Jack. “The evidence on this point may help us in the nullity suit, and in the divorce suit it would, of course, be absolutely indispensable.”
There was a pause before she said doubtfully: