“The devil I did not!” she replied. “You shall hear the statement again from those of your own household.”
With that she called the children, and the servants who were standing there, and asked them if they had not seen their father lying with the maid, and they answered, yes.
“You lie, you naughty boys,” replied their father. “Your mother told you to say it.”
“Begging your pardon, father, we saw you there; and so did the servants.”
“Is that so?” asked the lady of the servants.
“That is quite true,” they replied.
Then all who were present laughed loudly, and teased him terribly, for his wife related all about his pretended illness, and what he had done, and how she had prepared the dinner and invited his friends in order to make the story known, at which he was so ashamed that he hardly dared hold up his head, and did not know what to reply except to say,
“Go on! you are all against me, so I will hold my tongue and let you have your own way, for I can’t contend against the lot of you.”
Afterwards he ordered the table to be removed, and when grace was said, he called his stepson and whispered to him;
“John, my friend, although the others accuse me, I know that you believe me. See how much is owing to that poor girl, and pay her so liberally that she will have no cause to complain, and send her away; for I know well that your mother will never permit her to stay in the house.”