Fyne that de Barral certainly did not take
anyone into his confidence. But the beastly relative had made up his low
mind that it was so. He was selfish and pitiless in his stupidity, but
he had clearly conceived the notion of making a claim on de Barral when
de Barral came out of prison on the strength of having "looked after" (as
he would have himself expressed it) his daughter. He nursed his hopes,
such as they were, in secret, and it is to be supposed kept them even
from his wife.
I could see it very well. That belief accounted for his mysterious air
while he interfered in favour of the girl. He was the only protector she
had. It was as though Flora had been fated to be always surrounded by
treachery and lies stifling every better impulse, every instinctive
aspiration of her soul to trust and to love. It would have been enough
to drive a fine nature into the madness of universal suspicion--into any
sort of madness. I don't know how far a sense of humour will stand by
one. To the foot of the gallows, perhaps. But from my recollection of
Flora de Barral I feared that she hadn't much sense of humour.
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