Tom then arose, and, saying that he had yet to go to a good many other houses, took leave and departed. CHAPTER XLIV ANGLESEA AGAIN Mrs. Force went up to her daughter, and said: "Come with me to my own room. I have something to say to you." Odalite immediately followed her mother to that little parlor which had been the scene of so many critical interviews. When the door was shut, and the mother and daughter were seated together before the fire, the lady inquired: "Odalite, my love, what letter was that which you received by this morning's mail, and put into your pocket the moment I joined you at the window?" "Oh, mamma, it was a little note that would only have given you pain!" said Odalite, shrinking. "Yet what was it? Tell me." "It was a letter from him, mother, written on Saturday morning, an hour before he sailed for Liverpool. It was directed on the outside to Miss Odalite Force, but, on the inside, to Mrs. Angus Anglesea." "The serpent! He knew full well that, if he had presumed to offer us such an affront as to give you his name where your father could see it, the insult would never have been permitted to reach your eyes! Where is the letter, Odalite? Let me see it." The girl took the paper from its envelope, and, in wrath and scorn, read as follows: "To Mrs. Angus Anglesea: My wife--for wife you are, despite all the false testimony brought forward to separate us--I was forced by circumstances to depart from you without a last farewell; yet I cannot deny myself the privilege of writing to you a last letter before I leave the country--to assure you that I am your lawful husband, lord and master, who will never yield one jot or tittle of his rights to mortal man or woman, but who will contest them, if need be, through every court in the country; and, if driven to extremity, will defend them at the sword's point. I refer you to your mother for proofs in her possession--proofs which I gave her, and which must convince you that our marriage was a perfectly regular and legal transaction, and that you are, therefore, my lawful wife, and I exhort you to be wise, prudent and faithful to your marriage bonds; for, be assured, I am not one who will brook offense, but who will follow with swift, sharp vengeance the slightest infringement of my rights. I remain, and I intend to remain, until death, your husband, Angus Anglesea. "New York, December --, 18--." When Mrs. Force had read this delectable epistle, she tossed it into the fire, where it quickly blazed up and burned to ashes.