A Fair Fraud — page 74: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Fair Fraud 63 evidently thinking deeply. At last she looked up and said,— ‘I will be quite frank with you. I cannot give you any‘money now because I have not got any. I have scarcely enough to pay my own way. The clothes you see me wear, the clothes that Hester is wearing, are not paid for. I owe money in every direction; to Julie alone my account must have run into three figures, otherwise I should have left the false cat long ago. But I am obliged to have the things for Hester and also for myself. Itisa necessary outlay, for we must make a good appearance; but I have very good hopes of being able to pay all my own debts soon, and I will give you some money then, as much as | possibly .can—enough at least to keep you; that is, as long as you promise not to persecute me any longer, but to go away now and wait patiently until I can send it to you, and neither to write to me nor to follow us nor to give any sign of your existence—to leave me completely alone, in short.’ ‘And when will the money be sent to me?’ ‘As soon as this affair here 1s settled,’ replied Mrs Lane, quickly, ‘ which it is bound to be in a very few days’ time. The man is rich and in love. Hesier, as she appears to be to the world, is a prize worth any man’s money; but if he got any inkling of yoxr existence, my GOMMGIOO