`Well，sir，thereusedtobeinthosedays——betterthanthree-and-twentyyearsago。Theybuiltanewtownabouttwomilesoff，convenienttotheriver——andOldWelmingham，whichwasnevermuchmorethanavillage，gotintimetobedeserted。ThenewtownistheplacetheycallWelminghamnow——buttheoldparishchurchistheparishchurchstill。Itstandsbyitself，withthehousespulleddownorgonetoruinallroundit。I’velivedtoseesadchanges。Itwasapleasant，prettyplaceinmytime。’
`Didyoulivetherebeforeyourmarriage，MrsClements？’
`No，sir——I’maNorfolkwoman。Itwasn’ttheplacemyhusbandbelongedtoeither。HewasfromGrimsby，asItoldyou，andheservedhisapprenticeshipthere。Buthavingfriendsdownsouth，andhearingofanopening，hegotintobusinessatSouthampton。Itwasinasmallway，buthemadeenoughforaplainmantoretireon，andsettledatOldWelmingham。Iwenttherewithhimwhenhemarriedme。Wewereneitherofusyoung，butwelivedveryhappytogether——happierthanourneighbour，MrCatherick，livedalongwithhiswifewhentheycametoOldWelminghamayearortwoafterwards。’
`Wasyourhusbandacquaintedwiththembeforethat？’
`WithCatherick，sir——notwithhiswife。Shewasastrangertobothofus。SomegentlemenhadmadeinterestforCatherick，andhegotthesituationofclerkatWelminghamchurch，whichwasthereasonofhiscomingtosettleinourneighbourhood。Hebroughthisnewly-marriedwifealongwithhim，andweheardincourseoftimeshehadbeenlady’s-maidinafamilythatlivedatVarneckHall，nearSouthampton。Catherickhadfounditahardmattertogethertomarryhim，inconsequenceofherholdingherselfuncommonlyhigh。Hehadaskedandasked，andgiventhethingupatlast，seeingshewassocontraryaboutit。Whenhehadgivenitupsheturnedcontraryjusttheotherway，andcametohimofherownaccord，withoutrhymeorreasonseemingly。Mypoorhusbandalwayssaidthatwasthetimetohavegivenheralesson。ButCatherickwastoofondofhertodoanythingofthesort——henevercheckedhereitherbeforetheyweremarriedorafter。Hewasaquickmaninhisfeelings，lettingthemcarryhimadealtoofar，nowinonewayandnowinanother，andhewouldhavespoiltabetterwifethanMrsCatherickifabetterhadmarriedhim。Idon’tliketospeakillofanyone，sir，butshewasaheartlesswoman，withaterriblewillofherown——fondoffoolishadmirationandfineclothes，andnotcaringtoshowsomuchasdecentoutwardrespecttoCatherick，kindlyashealwaystreatedher。Myhusbandsaidhethoughtthingswouldturnoutbadlywhentheyfirstcametolivenearus，andhiswordsprovedtrue。Beforetheyhadbeenquitefourmonthsinourneighbourhoodtherewasadreadfulscandalandamiserablebreak-upintheirhousehold。Bothofthemwereinfault——Iamafraidbothofthemwereequallyinfault。’
`Youmeanbothhusbandandwife？’
`Oh，no，sir！Idon’tmeanCatherick——hewasonlytobepitied。I
meanthiswifeandtheperson——’
`Andthepersonwhocausedthescandal？’
`Yes，sir。Agentlemanbornandbroughtup，whooughttohavesetabetterexample。Youknowhim，sir——andmypoordearAnneknewhimonlytoowell。’
`SirPercivalGlyde？’
`Yes，SirPercivalGlyde。’
Myheartbeatfast——IthoughtIhadmyhandontheclue。HowlittleIknewthenofthewindingsofthelabyrinthswhichwerestilltomisleadme！
`DidSirPercivalliveinyourneighbourhoodatthattime？’Iasked。
`No，sir。Hecameamongusasastranger。Hisfatherhaddiednotlongbeforeinforeignparts。Irememberhewasinmourning。Heputupatthelittleinnontheriver(theyhavepulleditdownsincethattime)，wheregentlemenusedtogotofish。Hewasn’tmuchnoticedwhenhefirstcame——itwasacommonthingenoughforgentlementotravelfromallpartsofEnglandtofishinourriver。’
`DidhemakehisappearanceinthevillagebeforeAnnewasborn？’
`Yes，sir。AnnewasbornintheJunemonthofeighteenhundredandtwenty-seven——andIthinkhecameattheendofAprilorthebeginningofMay。’
`Cameasastrangertoallofyou？AstrangertoMrsCatherickaswellastotherestoftheneighbours？’
`Sowethoughtatfirst，sir。Butwhenthescandalbrokeout，nobodybelievedtheywerestrangers。Irememberhowithappenedaswellasifitwasyesterday。Catherickcameintoourgardenonenight，andwokeusbythrowingupahandfulofgravelfromthewalkatourwindow。Iheardhimbegmyhusband，fortheLord’ssake，tocomedownandspeaktohim。
Theywerealongtimetogethertalkingintheporch。Whenmyhusbandcamebackupstairshewasallofatremble。Hesatdownonthesideofthebedandhesaystome，``Lizzie！Ialwaystoldyouthatwomanwasabadone——Ialwayssaidshewouldendill，andI’mafraidinmyownmindthattheendhascomealready。Catherickhasfoundalotoflacehandkerchiefs，andtwofinerings，andanewgoldwatchandchain，hidawayinhiswife’sdrawer——thingsthatnobodybutabornladyoughtevertohave——andhiswifewon’tsayhowshecamebythem。’’``Doeshethinkshestolethem？’’
saysI。``No，’’sayshe，``stealingwouldbebadenough。Butit’sworsethanthat，she’shadnochanceofstealingsuchthingsasthose，andshe’snotawomantotakethemifshehad。They’regifts，Lizzie——there’sherowninitialsengravedinsidethewatch——andCatherickhasseenhertalkingprivately，andcarryingonasnomarriedwomanshould，withthatgentlemaninmourning，SirPercivalGlyde。Don’tyousayanythingaboutit——I’vequietedCatherickfortonight。I’vetoldhimtokeephistonguetohimself，andhiseyesandhisearsopen，andtowaitadayortwo，tillhecanbequitecertain。’’``Ibelieveyouarebothofyouwrong，’’saysI。``It’snotinnature，comfortableandrespectableassheishere，thatMrsCatherickshouldtakeupwithachancestrangerlikeSirPercivalGlyde。’’``Ay，butisheastrangertoher？’’saysmyhusband。``YouforgethowCatherick’swifecametomarryhim。Shewenttohimofherownaccord，aftersayingNooverandoveragainwhenheaskedher。Therehavebeenwickedwomenbeforehertime，Lizzie，whohaveusedhonestmenwholovedthemasameansofsavingtheircharacters，andI’msorelyafraidthisMrsCatherickisaswickedastheworstofthem。Weshallsee，’’saysmyhusband，``weshallsoonsee。’’Andonlytwodaysafterwardswedidsee。’
MrsClementswaitedforamomentbeforeshewenton。Eveninthatmoment，IbegantodoubtwhetherthecluethatIthoughtIhadfoundwasreallyleadingmetothecentralmysteryofthelabyrinthafterall。Wasthiscommon，toocommon，storyofaman’streacheryandawoman’sfrailtythekeytoasecretwhichhadbeenthelife-longterrorofSirPercivalGlyde？
`Well，sir，Cathericktookmyhusband’sadviceandwaited，’MrsClementscontinued。`AndasItoldyou，hehadn’tlongtowait。OntheseconddayhefoundhiswifeandSirPercivalwhisperingtogetherquitefamiliar，closeunderthevestryofthechurch。Isupposetheythoughttheneighbourhoodofthevestrywasthelastplaceintheworldwhereanybodywouldthinkoflookingafterthem，but，howeverthatmaybe，theretheywere。SirPercival，beingseeminglysurprisedandconfounded，defendedhimselfinsuchaguiltywaythatPoorCatherick(whosequicktemperIhavetoldyouofalready)
fellintoakindoffrenzyathisowndisgrace，andstruckSirPercival。
Hewasnomatch(andIamsorrytosayit)forthemanwhohadwrongedhim，andhewasbeateninthecruellestmanner，beforetheneighbours，whohadcometotheplaceonhearingthedisturbance，couldrunintopartthem。Allthishappenedtowardsevening，andbeforenightfall，whenmyhusbandwenttoCatherick’shouse，hewasgone，nobodyknewwhere。Nolivingsoulinthevillageeversawhimagain。Heknewtoowell，bythattime，whathiswife’svilereasonhadbeenformarryinghim，andhefelthismiseryanddisgrace，especiallyafterwhathadhappenedtohimwithSirPercival，tookeenly。Theclergymanoftheparishputanadvertisementinthepaperbegginghimtocomeback，andsayingthatheshouldnotlosehissituationorhisfriends。ButCatherickhadtoomuchprideandspirit，assomepeoplesaid——toomuchfeeling，asIthink，sir——tofacehisneighboursagain，andtrytolivedownthememoryofhisdisgrace。MyhusbandheardfromhimwhenhehadleftEngland，andheardasecondtime，whenhewassettledanddoingwellinAmerica。Heisalivetherenow，asfarasIknow，butnoneofusintheoldcountry——hiswickedwifeleastofall——areeverlikelytoseteyesonhimagain。’
`WhatbecameofSirPercival？’Iinquired。`Didhestayintheneighbourhood？’
`Nothe，sir。Theplacewastoohottoholdhim。HewasheardathighwordswithMrsCatherickthesamenightwhenthescandalbrokeout，andthenextmorninghetookhimselfoff。’
`AndMrsCatherick？SurelysheneverremainedinthevillageamongthePeoplewhoknewofherdisgrace？’
`Shedid，sir。Shewashardenoughandheartlessenoughtosettheopinionsofallherneighboursatflatdefiance。Shedeclaredtoeverybody，fromtheclergymandownwards，thatshewasthevictimofadreadfulmistake，andthatallthescandal-mongersintheplaceshouldnotdriveheroutofit，asifshewasaguiltywoman。AllthroughmytimeshelivedatOldWelmingham，andaftermytime，whenthenewtownwasbuilding，andtherespectableneighboursbeganmovingtoit，shemovedtoo，asifshewasdeterminedtoliveamongthemandscandalisethemtotheverylast。Theresheisnow，andthereshewillstop，indefianceofthebestofthem，toherdyingday。’
`Buthowhasshelivedthroughalltheseyears？’Iasked。`Washerhusbandableandwillingtohelpher？’
`Bothableandwilling，sir，’saidMrsClements。`Inthesecondletterhewrotetomygoodman，hesaidshehadbornehisname，andlivedinhishome，and，wickedasshewas，shemustnotstarvelikeabeggarinthestreet。HecouldaffordtomakeherplaceinLondon。’
`Didsheaccepttheallowance？’
`Notafarthingofit，sir。ShesaidshewouldneverbebeholdentoCatherickforbitordrop，ifshelivedtobeahundred。Andshehaskeptherwordeversince。Whenmypoordearhusbanddied，andleftalltome，Catherick’sletterwasputinmypossessionwiththeotherthings，andItoldhertoletmeknowifshewaseverinwant。``I’llletallEnglandknowI’minwant，’’shesaid，``beforeItellCatherick，oranyfriendofCatherick’s。Takethatforyouranswer，andgiveittohimforananswer，ifheeverwritesagain。’’’
`Doyousupposethatshehadmoneyofherown？’
`Verylittle，ifany，sir。Itwassaid，andsaidtruly，Iamafraid，thathermeansoflivingcameprivatelyfromSirPercivalGlyde。’
AfterthatlastreplyIwaitedalittle，toreconsiderwhatIhadheard。
IfIunreservedlyacceptedthestorysofar，itwasnowplainthatnoapproach，directorindirect，totheSecrethadyetbeenrevealedtome，andthatthepursuitofmyobjecthadendedagaininleavingmefacetofacewiththemostpalpableandthemostdishearteningfailure。
