The Argosy, Vol. 35

This excerpt from "Martha's Shame," serialized by Winifred Power in Winifred Power magazine (February 188[?]), presents chapter four of a Victorian domestic drama. After John Hatherley's father dies, Martha Freake, a long-time family servant, is arrested on suspicion of writing extortion letters. At a magistrate's hearing, Martha refuses to name who sent her to retrieve the threatening letter, though she protests her innocence. John and the local rector provide sureties for her release. Meanwhile, the family lawyer discovers the old will leaves John the sole legatee, disinheriting his sister Mary and brother William. Mary erupts in rage, threatening to dispute the will, but John's dominance over her—and her entanglement in the letter scheme—silences her protests. A search for the missing second will proves fruitless.