Mrs. Orme had been at home a month, and was preparing to return to Redhill, when her father took an opportunity of asking her who it was she saw at the bank, how often she had been there, what sums of money she had received, and what circumstances induced her to go. To all these questions she replied in very direct terms, and when she had finished, expressed her gratitude to her father for his kindness, and hoped that now he would consent to be reconciled to her husband.
"Your husband, my child, has been pursuing one uniform plan of deception, from the time he first saw you to the present hour; and though this last instance of his duplicity is not the most fatal to your happiness, it is certainly the most hazardous for his own. I gave him no drafts, nor have I seen him since your marriage."
"Not seen him, father!"
"No."
"Nor given him any checks!"
"Never."
"How in the world did he get them then?"
"He has forged my name, Emma, and made you the innocent agent in his villainy."
"And is it possible! Am I the wife of such a man!"
"Such a man is your husband; and if the law now take its course, he will be liable to transportation for life."