"It is said they ain't married at all," Mrs. Tuke remarked one evening, as she laid his supper on the table.
"But nobody knows," Rufus said, wearily, looking up from his book.
"Well, not for certain. But if they was married, don't you think as how it would have leaked out somehow?"
"They may have been married quietly without a dozen people knowing."
"But why should they be married on the sly? Sir Charles seemed mighty proud that the Captain was going to marry her before he turned up."
"Yes, I believe that is so."
"And the young man was that gone on her, that if she'd consented to marry him, he'd never have been able to keep it to himself."
"It might be her wish, and I think he would do almost anything to oblige her."
"No, he couldn't have done it, however much he'd tried. He'd just burst, that he would."
"Then what is your theory, Mrs. Tuke?"