Her Faithful Knight — page 238: what you’re looking at

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

234 Good News that Came Too Late. less, judicial aspect impressed itself upon Dorothy as she read the letter. A lie once spoken in hot defiance, with no intention to deceive, had been taken as a truth, and she found herself forced to stand by it. Suppose she were to send for these lawyers and ex- plain to them the mistake that had been made, to tell the whole truth to them, what would be the result? Darcy Derrick would attend the funeral, would see that the dead woman was buried as Phyllis Knight, would disclaim all relationship with her, and cast a foul slur upon her memory and name. He would triumph in his victim’s death, and before the grass had grown above her grave would be subjecting her sister to his gross and in- tolerable persecutions, urged by the double force of his evil passion and his desire to get her fortune. The law would take no count of Phyllis’ ruined life and tragic death. Had Darcy married her legally, he could not have wedded her sister; but as the law would set aside a marriage contracted during the first Mrs. Derrick’s lifetime, he was perfectly free to claim Dorothy as his lawful wife. Her heart was filled with hatred against him, with horror of him, and with dread of the violence of her own’ feelings should he so much as enter her presence. And yet, so long as he believed her alive, she could never for one moment be free from him. Every one would be against her. She fancied she could hear the stereotyped old phrases which would be used: “A wife’s place is at her husband’s side;” “No one should come between man and wife;”’ “A wife’s best: shelter is her husband’s love;” “Whom God hath joined,” etc., etc. She knew, in brief, just what would happen if this mistake were made right, and with every nerve in her (COPNIE LOOKS 4)