I beg your pardon. Pray go on."
"We began very well. We buried our man under the name of Lord Harry
Norland, as I have said. The difficulty then arose as to the
presentation of the claim. It was most desirable that the claim should
be made by the person who would most naturally be the deceased's heir
and after proving his will and by his own solicitor.
"I am married. I have no children. I have not lived on good terms with
my family. It was, therefore, quite reasonable to expect that I should
leave my wife sole heir and executrix. It was also natural that she
should go to my solicitors--the family solicitors--and ask them to
manage her affairs.
"With this object I confessed to my wife as much of the conspiracy as
was necessary. Like many women, she possesses, in addition to every
virtue, a blessed devotion to her husband. Where he is concerned she is
easily led even from the paths of honour. I practised on that devotion;
I used all the arguments and persuasions based on that devotion
necessary to convert a woman of honour into the accomplice of a
conspiracy. In brief, I made my wife join in the fraud. She consented
to act for me, persuaded that if she did not the conspiracy would be
discovered.
Pages:
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559