Of course the most natural solution for all this was the one offered by the dismally prophetic Tadman.

Stephen Whitelaw had been speculating or gambling, and his affairs were in disorder.

He was not a man to be affected by anything but the most sordid considerations, one would suppose.

Say that he had lost money, and there you had a key to the whole.
He got into a habit of sitting up at night, after the rest of the household had gone to bed.

He had done this more or less from the time of his marriage; and Mrs.Tadman had told Ellen that the habit was one which had arisen within the last few months.
"He would always see to the fastenings of the house with his own eyes," Mrs.Tadman said; "but up to last autumn he used to go upstairs with me and the servants.