The priest had lied to him about her father.
They must have known that the man was alive.

They had caught him among them, and the priest's anger was a part of the net with which they had intended to surround him.

The stake for which they had played had been very great.

To be Countess of Scroope was indeed a chance worth some risk.

Then, as he breasted the hill up towards the burial ground, he tried to strengthen his courage by realizing the magnitude of his own position.