"'You are no husband of mine,' I cried. "'Really,' he exclaimed, lifting his eyebrows carelessly; 'since when have I ceased to be your husband, I should like to know?' "That just took my breath away. "'For ten years, thank God,' said I. "'Well, it's always good to thank God,' and his wicked eyes smiled maliciously at me; 'only in this case he is receiving what he has not earned.' "'What do you mean?' I asked. "'That I have never ceased to be your husband, my dear.' "'It's a lie, it's a lie!' I cried, but my knees began to tremble; 'I've been divorced from you for the last ten years, and don't you dare to pretend you don't know it.' "'I needn't pretend at all, as it happens, for this is the first I ever have heard of it; and so, my dear wife, be very careful not to make another man happy on the strength of that divorce, for if you do, you may find yourself in a very awkward position, to say the least of it.' "I looked at him. His manner had all the quiet assurance I remembered so well. Could what he said be true? Was it possible that my divorce was not legal? Father had said it was all right, but he might be mistaken, and, in that case, what should I do? My perturbation must have been written very plainly on my face, for, after watching me a minute in silence, he continued. 'Ah, I see that is what you have done--and who is my unlucky successor, if I may ask?' "Now, I knew that he was capable of any deviltry, and, if he found out that I had married again, it would be just like him to go to you, and make a scene, just for the pleasure of annoying us. Besides, as I had not told you of my first marriage, it would be dreadful if you should hear of it from Allan Brown, of all people. You would never forgive me in that case, I felt sure. So I lifted my head; 'I have no husband,' said I. "But he only smiled sarcastically at me, as he calmly lit a cigarette. "'Prevarication, my dear lady, is evidently not your forte. Out with it. What is the name of the unhappy man? I only call him unhappy (_bien entendu_) because he is about to lose you.' "'I'm not married,' I repeated. "'I know you are married, and I mean to find out who to, if I have to follow you all day.' "I had been walking rapidly along, hoping to shake him off, but he had persistently kept pace with me. Now I stopped. A policeman was coming towards us. In my desperation, I decided to ask him to arrest Allan for annoying me. The latter guessed my intention, and said: 'Oh, no; I wouldn't do that; I should inform him of the fact that you are my wife--an honour you seem hardly to appreciate, by the way--and you would have to accompany me to the police station, where our conflicting stories would no doubt arouse much interest, and probably be considered worthy of head-lines in the evening papers. Do you think the man you are now living with would enjoy your acquiring notoriety in such a way? Eh?' "'Well,' I cried, 'what is it you want?'