Unsafeguarded by marriage, he had fallen into evil hands.

To Edith, who had plenty of leisure for reflection, all this had become terribly clear.
Then Anne had come, the strong woman who could bear Walter's burden for him.

She had been jealous of Anne at first, for five minutes.

Then she had blessed her.
But Edith, as she had told her brother, was not a fool.

And all the time, while her heart leapt to the image of Anne in her dearness and sweetness, her brain saw perfectly well that her sister-in-law had not been free from the sin of pride (that came, said Edith, of standing on a pedestal.
It was better to lie on a couch than stand on a pedestal; you knew, at any rate, where you were).
Now, as Edith also said, there can be nothing more prostrating to a woman's pride than a bad bilious attack.