But she was miserable with him. And after her
baby died--it just wasn't endurable. Then came that railway accident, and
she was in it. There were a lot of folks killed, burnt to death most of
them. But she escaped, and then the thought came to her just to lie low
for a bit and let him think she was dead.
"Oh, it was a real wicked thing to do. But she was nearly demented with
trouble. And she did it. She managed to get away, too, in spite of her
lovely face. An old negro woman helped her. And she came to England and
went to a cousin of hers who had been good to her, whom she knew she
could trust--just a plain, square-jawed Englishman, Big Bear, like you in
some respects--not smart, oh no--only strong as iron. And he kept her
secret, though he didn't like it a bit. And he gave her some money of
hers that he had inherited, to live on. Which was funny, wasn't it?"
Mab paused to laugh.
"And then another man came along, a great, surly, fogheaded Englishman,
who made love to her till she was nearly driven crazy. For though
Warrender had married again before she could stop him, she wasn't free.
But she couldn't tell him so for the other woman's sake. It doesn't
matter now. It was a dreadful tangle once. And she felt real bad about
it. But it's come out quite simply. And no one will ever know.
"Now, I'll tell you a secret, Big Bear, about the woman you know of.
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