“Marlbury,” he continued unmoved, “a nice, quiet little place. I spent some time in the church there, and at the Council offices, looking for something, for something I didn’t find, Joany—and didn’t expect to find either, come to that, ha, ha!” He laughed. “No, never expected to find, but, to make dead sure, I went to Morchester, and hunted there, Joany, and still I didn’t find what I was looking for and knew I shouldn’t find!” “Mr. Slotman!” “You aren’t curious, are you? You won’t ask what I was looking for, perhaps you can guess!” He took a step nearer to her. “You can guess, can’t you, Joany?” he said. “I am not attempting to guess. I can only imagine that you are not in your sane senses. You will now go, and if you return—” “Wait a moment. What I was looking for at Marlbury and Morchester and did not find—was evidence of a marriage having taken place in June, nineteen eighteen, between Hugh Alston and Joan Meredyth. But there’s no such evidence, none! Ah, that touches you a bit, don’t it? Now you begin to understand why I ain’t taken in by your fine dignity!” “You—you have been looking for—for evidence of a marriage—my marriage with—what do you mean?” Her face was flushed, her eyes brilliant with anger. “I mean that I am not a fool, though I was for a time. You took me in—I am not blaming you”—he paused—“not blaming you. You were only a girl, straight out of school. You didn’t understand things, and the man—” “What—do—you—mean?” she whispered. “You left Miss Skinner’s, said you were going to Australia, didn’t you? But you didn’t go. Oh no, you didn’t go! You know best where you went, but there’s no proof of any marriage at Marlbury or Morchester. Now—now do you begin to understand?” She did understand, a sense of horror came to her, horror and shame that this man should dare—dare to think evil of her! She felt that she wanted to strike him. She saw him as through a mist—his hateful face, the face she wanted to strike with all her might, and yet she was conscious of an even greater anger, a very passion of hate and resentment against another man than this, against the man who had subjected her to these insults, this infamy. She gripped her hands hard. “You—you will leave this house. If you ever dare to return I will have you flung out—you hear me? Go, and if you ever dare—”