im.
You cannot separate them if you would.'

'No,--poor girl. If it be so, her misery is accomplished; but if it be
so she should at once be taken away from him. What a triumph it would be
to her mother!'

That is a dreadful thing to say, Robert.'

'But nevertheless true. Think of her warnings and refusals, and of my
persistence! But if it be so, not the less must we all insist
upon--destroying him. If it be so, he must be punished to the extent of
the law.'

William Bolton, however, would not admit that it could be so, and Robert
declared that though he suspected,--though in such a case he found
himself bound to suspect,--he did not in truth believe that Caldigate
had been guilty of so terrible a crime. All probability was against
it;--but still it was possible. Then, after much deliberation, it was
decided that an agent should be sent out by them to New South Wales, to
learn the truth, as far as it could be learned, and to bring back
whatever evidence might be collected without making too much noise in
the collection of it. Then there arose the question whether Caldigate
should be told of this;--but it was decided that it should be done at
the joint expense of the two brothers without the knowledge of Hester's
husband.

Chapter XXV

The Baby's Sponsors

'Is there anything wrong between you and Robert?' Hester asked this
question of her husband, one morning in January, as he was sitting by
the side of her sofa in their bedroom. The baby was in her arms, and at
that moment there was a question as to the godfathers and godmother for
the baby.

The letter from Mrs. Smith had arrived on the last day of October,
nearly two months before the birth of the baby, and the telegrams
refusing to send the money demanded had been despatched on the 1st
November,--so that, at this time, Caldigate's mind was accustomed to the
burden of the idea. From that day to this he had not often spoken of the
matter to Robert Bolton,--nor indeed had there been much conversation
between them on other matters. Robert had asked him two or three times
whether he had received any reply by the wires. No such message had
come; and of course he answered his brother-in-law's questions
accordingly;--but he had answered them almost with a look of offence.
The attorney's manner and tone seemed to him to convey reproach; and he
was determined that none of the Boltons should have the liberty to find
fault with him. It had been suggested, s