'You are a good fellow, Edward,' he said; 'but I think my sister is right.' 'I wish you would believe Manston a villain, as I do,' said Springrove.
'It would be absurd of me to say that I like him now--family feeling prevents it, but I cannot in honesty say deliberately that he is a bad man.' Edward could keep the secret of Manston's coercion of Miss Aldclyffe in the matter of the houses a secret no longer. He told Owen the whole story.
'That's one thing,' he continued, 'but not all. What do you think of this--I have discovered that he went to Budmouth post-office for a letter the day before the first advertisement for his wife appeared in the papers. One was there for him, and it was directed in his wife's handwriting, as I can prove. This was not till after the marriage with Cytherea, it is true, but if (as it seems to show) the advertising was a farce, there is a strong presumption that the rest of the piece was.' Owen was too astounded to speak. He dropped his cigar, and fixed his eyes upon his companion.
'Collusion!' 'Yes.' 'With his first wife?' 'Yes--with his wife. I am firmly persuaded of it.' 'What did you discover?' 'That he fetched from the post-office at Budmouth a letter from her the day _before_ the first advertisement appeared.' Graye was lost in a long consideration. 'Ah!' he said, 'it would be difficult to prove anything of that sort now. The writing could not be sworn to, and if he is guilty the letter is destroyed.' 'I have other suspicions--' 'Yes--as you said' interrupted Owen, who had not till now been able to form the complicated set of ideas necessary for picturing the position. 'Yes, there is this to be remembered--Cytherea had been taken from him before that letter came--and his knowledge of his wife's existence could not have originated till after the wedding.
I could have sworn he believed her dead then. His manner was unmistakable.' 'Well, I have other suspicions,' repeated Edward; 'and if I only had the right--if I were her husband or brother, he should be convicted of bigamy yet.' 'The reproof was not needed,' said Owen, with a little bitterness.
'What can I do--a man with neither money nor friends--whilst Manston has Miss Aldclyffe and all her fortune to back him up? God only knows what lies between the mistress and her steward, but since this has transpired--if it is true--I can believe the connection to be even an unworthy one--a thing I certainly never so much as owned to myself before.' 3. THE FIFTH OF MARCH Edward's disclosure had the effect of directing Owen Graye's thoughts into an entirely new and uncommon channel.