"I think so, too," said Randal.

"Wrong, completely wrong. I had made a mistake--I had been too
clever, and I got my reward accordingly. You know how I advised
Mrs. Linley?"

"Yes. You persuaded her, with the greatest difficulty, to apply
for a Divorce."

"Very well. I had made all the necessary arrangements for the
trial, when I received a letter from Germany. My charming client
had changed her mind, and declined to apply for the Divorce.
There was my reward for having been too clever!"

"I don't understand you."

"My dear fellow, you are dull to-night. I had been so successful
in protecting Mrs. Linley and the child, and my excellent courier
had found such a charming place of retreat for them in one of the
suburbs of Hanover, that 'she saw no reason now for taking the
shocking course that I had recommended to her--so repugnant to
all her most cherished convictions; so sinful and so shameful in
its doing of evil that good might come. Experience had convinced
her that (thanks to me) there was no fear of Kitty being
discovered and taken from her. She therefore begged me to write
to my agent in Edinburgh, and tell him that her application to
the court was withdrawn.' Ah, you understand my position at last.
The headstrong woman was running a risk which renewed all my
anxieties. By every day's post I expected to hear that she had
paid the penalty of her folly, and that your brother had