“I mean, Mr. Rogers, that whatever your wife may have intended to do—however far she may have intended to go—West’s death saved her from the one step which the world considers unforgivable.”
“I hope you are right—God knows I hope you are right.”
“I am sure that I am. Now tell me what has happened.”
“I have left my wife. I have left her, and taken my boy.”
“Well—now that you have taken that step, what do you propose to do next?”
“I don’t know. That is what I want to discuss with you. It is a terrible situation. I scarcely know which way to turn. She has sent me a letter, asking me to see her. I have agreed to do so—to-day. What I shall say to her I do not know. Within the past forty-eight hours I have had every good and kind and generous impulse within me shattered and destroyed. The friend that I loved and trusted has betrayed me. The wife for whom I would have given my life has proven disloyal—false. My self-respect is gone. My home is a wreck. The money that keeps it up comes from a man who did his best to ruin me.” He began to walk about, distracted, his voice choking with feeling. “Is it any wonder that I feel bitter? Is it any wonder that I do not know what to do?”
The lawyer removed his glasses and considered them carefully for a long time. The problem was indeed a serious one.
Presently he spoke. “The first consideration, of course, is your child.”
“I know it. I have taken him from his mother. He wants her—needs her. Have I the right to deprive him of her love?”