Prologue
She had come to the edge of the little wooded copse. Looking up from her sister's letter held in her hand, she saw a familiar figure striding across the meadow towards her.
Forcing a smile, she returned the tall gentleman's greeting. Oh well, I can read the letter later, she thought.
"I did not know that you ever walked this way."
"I have making my yearly tour of the Park," he replied. "I intended to finish it with a call at the Parsonage. Are you going much farther?"
"No, I was on my way back."
"In that case, would you mind if I joined you?"
"You would be very welcome."
He joined her side as she began walking...
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"...Of course it is all conjecture." He hesitated, wondering if he should go on.
"What do you mean?" prompted the lady.
"Well...he, of course, would not wish it to be generally known for it would be unpleasant if it were to get round to the lady's family."
"You may depend upon my not mentioning it."
"Remember that I have not much reason for supposing it to be that gentleman..." He paused before continuing quickly, "He merely told me, without mentioning names or other details, that he congratulated himself on having recently saved a friend from the inconveniences of an most imprudent marriage. I only suspected it to be that particular friend from believing him to be the kind of young man to get into scrape of that sort. And from knowing them to have been together the whole of last summer," he added as an afterthought.