"I am not so weak as to believe _that_ after what has happened, though I have tried to argue with myself, only this afternoon, that she may still be true to me and that there may have been some hidden reason for her conduct.

Granted that she wished to escape from her engagement, she might have trusted to my honour to give her a prompt release the moment I became acquainted with the real state of her feelings.

There must have been some stronger influence than this at work when she left Lidford.

I want to know the true cause of that hurried departure, John.

I want to be sure that Marian Nowell is happy, and in safe hands." "By what means do you hope to discover this ?" "I rely a good deal upon repeated advertisements in the _Times_.