She looked kind still but she was grave.
"Do not be frightened when I tell you that most people will _not_ believe what you say about your marriage," she said.

"That is because it is too much like the stories other girls have told when they were in trouble.

It is an easy story to tell when a man is dead.

And in Donal's case so much is involved that the law would demand proofs which could not be denied.

Donal not only owned the estate of Braemarnie, but he would have been the next Marquis of Coombe.