Hitherto there had perhaps been more smoke than fire, more calumny than sin.
And Fitzgerald, when he had intimated that the presence of a young wife would save him from it all, had not boasted falsely.

But now that his friends had turned their backs upon him, that he was banished from Desmond Court, and twitted with his iniquities at Castle Richmond, he threw off all restraint, and endeavoured to enjoy himself in his own way.

So the orgies became fast and furious; all which of course reached the ears of poor Clara Desmond.
During the summer holidays, Lord Desmond was not at home, but Owen Fitzgerald was also away.

He had gone abroad, perhaps with the conviction that it would be well that he and the Desmonds should not meet; and he remained abroad till the hunting season again commenced.
Then the winter came again, and he and Lord Desmond used to meet in the field.

There they would exchange courtesies, and, to a certain degree, show that they were intimate.