she wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, who, being unmarried
(and likely to remain so), had undertaken to keep house for her
younger brother, and would, as matters at that moment stood, have
likely outlived him and inherited his property. Opportunity was not
long wanting for her to effect her object; William was the sole
executor to his brother's estate, and, as business often brought
them together at the late Mr. Clarkson's lawyer's office in Montreal,
it was not strange that the widow should almost immediately have
opened the campaign, which she did on the first occasion of their
meeting in the city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a
little skirmishing, in order to draw out her opponent. It was a
beautiful spring morning, and, as they had appointed to meet in
Montreal at eleven o'clock, Mr. Clarkson called to drive his
sister-in-law to the depot to meet the train. To his surprise, that
lady declined to accompany him, reminding him that she was now alone
in the world, and that if during her husband's life-time the tongue
of scandal was directed against her reputation, how much the more
would it be so now that her natural protector was no more. William,
being little of a gossip himself, urged her to be above such petty
pandering to public opinion, and to follow her inclinations, but she
replied naively.--"A woman has nothing to depend on but her
reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know." "Perhaps
you are right," William replied, laughing, and so he permitted the
widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes
later to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily
Mrs. Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the
trains both going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch,
and gossiping tongues would relate all that passed during the journey,
so she induced Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her,
promising her a pleasant day in Montreal.