The priest knows everything instead of the wife." There was another silence.
Magdalen's question vaguely alarmed Fay.

Natures such as hers if given time will unconsciously whittle away all the sinister little incidents that traverse and render untenable the position in which they have taken refuge.

They do not purposely ignore these conflicting memories, but they don't know what has weight and what has not, and they refuse to weigh them because they cannot weigh anything.

Their minds, quickly confused at the best of times, instinctively select and retain all they remember that upholds their own view of the situation and--discard the rest.
Fay could not answer Magdalen's trenchant question.

She could only restate her own view of her husband's character.
Magdalen did not make large demands on the truthfulness of others if they had very little of it.