our by praise of Egerton, with indirect
humble apologetic allusions to his own former presumption, he prepared
the way to renewed visits; she was so lonely, and she so loved to see
one who was fresh from seeing Audley, one who would talk to her of
him! By degrees the friendly respectful visitor thus stole into her
confidence; and then, with all his panegyrics on Audley's superior
powers and gifts, he began to dwell upon the young husband's worldly
aspirations, and care for his career; dwell on them so as vaguely to
alarm Nora,--to imply that, dear as she was, she was still but second
to Ambition. His way thus prepared, he next began to insinuate his
respectful pity at her equivocal position, dropped hints of gossip and
slander, feared that the marriage might be owned too late to preserve
reputation. And then what would be the feelings of the proud Egerton
if his wife were excluded from that world whose opinion he so prized?
Insensibly thus he led her on to express (though timidly) her own
fear, her own natural desire, in her letters to Audley. When could the
marriage be proclaimed? Proclaimed! Audley felt that to proclaim such a
marriage at such a moment would be to fling away his last cast for fame
and fortune. And Harley, too,--Harley still so uncured of his frantic
love! Levy was sure to be at hand when letters like these arrived.

And now Levy went further still in his determination to alienate these
two hearts. He contrived, by means of his various agents, to circulate
through Nora's neighbourhood the very slanders at which he had hinted.
He contrived that she should be insulted when she went abroad, outraged
at home by the sneers of her own servant, and tremble with shame at her
own shadow upon her abandoned bridal hearth.

Just in the midst of this intolerable anguish, Levy reappeared. His
crowning hour was ripe. He intimated his knowledge of the humiliations
Nora had undergone, expressed his deep compassion, offered to intercede
with Egerton "to do her justice." He used ambiguous phrases, that
shocked her ear and tortured her heart, and thus provoked her on to
demand him to explain; and then, throwing her into a wild state of
indefinite alarm, in which he obtained her solemn promise not to divulge
to Audley what he was about to communicate, he said, with villanous
hypocrisy of reluctant shame, "that her marriage was not strictly legal;
that the forms required by the law had not been complied with, that
Audley,