Читать книгу On the Brink of a Chasm: A record of plot and passion онлайн

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In other quarters there was a certain amount of gossip. Dick Pelham was considered wonderfully lucky. Before the child’s death he had been a mere nobody—a briefless barrister with the ordinary chances of a moderate success. Now he was a man of vast importance—the baronetcy was one of the oldest in England, and the acres which belonged to the title large, fair, and widely spread.

Pelham’s engagement to Barbara Evershed had just been bruited abroad in society, and she was heartily congratulated. The whole thing was almost like a story. Nothing could have happened in a more opportune way. Of course, the death of the child was dreadful, and those who knew the little fellow were heartily sorry; but few people did know him, and Barbara had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Amongst these people the general rumor was that the child had been removed at a most crucial and happy moment. Mrs. Evershed’s monetary affairs would be put straight, and she would be the mother-in-law of one of the richest men in England. The match was a splendid one for her handsome daughter. Yes, Barbara was in luck, but as she happened to be a popular girl, as the voice of society pronounced her fine-spirited, and even noble, there was not one who grudged her the happiness which was now assuredly to be hers.