“You don’t think I was a little too high-handed with him?” said he, after a thoughtful pause. She made an expressive motion of negation with both hands. “The sooner it’s over the sooner to sleep, dear Jack,” she said. “There’s nothing so dreadful as suspense. We shall never know a moment’s ease until the thing is over--or, at any rate, begun. The sooner he begins the better pleased will I be.” “I don’t think that I gave him any excuse for dallying,” said he, grimly. “What will his next step be, do you fancy?” she asked. “Tell me what he can do beyond making the newspapers publish the story of his escape. I know how they will do it--with the column headed in big letters, ‘A Modern Enoch Arden.’ They won’t have the sense to see that he has nothing of Enoch Arden about him.” “We shall have to face some nasty bits of publicity but we’ll face them,” said he, resolutely. “He has plainly been in touch with a man of the law; he had got hold of that legal jargon about conjugal rights. He will have to appeal to a judge to make an order for you to go to him.” “But no judge will make such an order--surely not, Jack?” “You may take it from me that he will get his order.” “Is such a thing possible?” “Absolutely certain, I should say.” “And what then?” “Nothing. The judge who makes the order has no way of enforcing it. Only if the man can carry you off he has the law on his side. You had much better not let him carry you off after he gets his order, Priscilla.” “Or before it. I suppose that he has the law on his side as matters stand at present.” “I suppose he has. But when he gets his order and you refuse to obey it, he will have a very good chance of getting a divorce.” “It would be hoping too much to expect that he will do us such a good turn. So then we shall be the same as before.” “That’s what I have been thinking; but I’ve also been thinking that if you made an application to have your marriage to him annulled, the chances are greatly in favour of your having that application granted.” “Jack, you are talking like a lawyer. I did not know that you could give an opinion on these points so definitely.” “I only speak as a layman, from my recollection of certain cases that have appeared from time to time in the papers. I may be all wrong--remember that. We may have to fall back upon something that Captain Lyman knows, and try for a divorce.” “That was why you made that shot which showed your knowledge of men such as he is.” “I confess that I hoped to get him to commit himself.” “And he did.” “Yes; but unfortunately his doing so will not count for anything in a court of law. We shall have to produce evidence as to the woman--perhaps even the woman herself. If we find that, immediately after leaving gaol he went off to her and deserted you--the court would place great stress upon his desertion of you--we might have a very good chance of getting a divorce.” “Only a good chance?”