Chapter 120

"It's one thing I can't tell you. Some things are best kept secret."

The words haunted him throughout the rest of the day. He never had any suspicion about it before, but now when the idea occured to him, her sudden disappearance seemed to make a whole lot sense.

He'd heard rumors. The servants murmured about it for weeks. Her family said she went to France. It was rather curious. He wondered how her father could afford it, both financially and mentally. The old man was well-known all over the country for his frugal existence.

He should have suspected about it earlier, the real reason behind her leaving. It never occurred to him before, because it seemed like her to come and go as she pleased. She was notoriously wanton, though he constantly disregarded that undesirable fact. There had never been a promise of fidelity between them, and when they were having an affair, he knew she was engaged in the same sort of relations