“We take our stand on Garlett’s absolute innocence,” continued the lawyer. “We wish to prove that he hardly realized your existence till some months after his wife’s death. That is the point on which you will have to try and convince judge, jury, and the very clever gentleman who will lead the Prosecution for the Crown. Now it is obvious to me that if you set out to do that as the woman who loves the prisoner in the dock, and absolutely believes in his innocence, that fact will give your words far more weight than if you come into court admitting that you have broken off your engagement.”
“Then why,” she whispered, “did he write me this letter? In spite of the loving things he said in it toward the end, I felt a sort of dreadful doubt, as if he no longer cared for me——”
“No longer cared for you?” exclaimed Mr. Toogood, wiping his spectacles. “Why, my dear young lady, it’s entirely for your sake that he wrote that letter. Didn’t you understand that? He won’t be allowed to see any of the newspapers after to-day, but up to to-day the Governor stretched a point. But it was no kindness, for some of the things the papers printed made him feel simply frantic. He was awfully upset at some article which said that you thought his wife had committed suicide. He wanted to have it contradicted!”
“I never saw any statement of that sort,” said Jean astonished. “I can hardly believe they can have dared to say such a thing. Of course I feel sure that Mrs. Garlett did not commit suicide.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Quite frequently it happens that a man takes his own life when every one round him would have sworn him utterly incapable of doing such a thing. If that is often true of a man, it is truer of a woman, for your sex is far more sensitive than mine, Miss Bower.”
“May I write an answer to Harry here?” said Jean.
He put a sheet of paper before her on his writing table, and taking up a pencil she wrote quickly:
I cannot do what you wish. I would have done so if not doing it would have done you harm. But I have found, thank God, that to break our engagement would do you harm rather than good.
“And now,” observed Mr. Toogood, “I’ll just put my boots on again, and see you home.”
“Indeed, you’ll do nothing of the kind!” exclaimed Jean, and this time she really smiled. “I’m not a bit afraid. Besides, it isn’t really dark.”