She loved him;
she had wanted his love; she would permit nothing to prevent their
coming together; and so in her mind she had established his innocence
apparently beyond any overthrowing. She might have allowed herself
to surmise that in the early past he had been naughty, untrustworthy,
even wicked--but that was different, that did not concern her. His
innocence with regard to the bank-notes alone mattered. And she had
been genuinely convinced of it. A few moments before he kissed her for
the first time, she had been genuinely convinced of it. And after the
betrothal her conviction became permanent. She tried to scorn now the
passion which had blinded her. Mrs. Maldon, at any rate, must have
known that he was connected with the disappearance of the notes. In
the light of Louis' confession Rachel could see all that Mrs. Maldon
was implying in that last conversation between them.
So that she might win him she had been ready to throttle every doubt
of his honesty. But now the indubitable fact that he was a thief
seemed utterly monstrous and insupportable. And, moreover, his crime
was exceptionally cruel. Was it conceivable that he could so lightly
cause so much distress of spirit to a woman so aged, defenceless, and
kind? According to the doctor, the shock of the robbery had not been
the originating cause of Mrs.
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