That
was his account; but Proudfoot, Moy, and Vivian all denied any
knowledge of this return of his, or of the letter. The night of
this inquiry he was missing. Jenny Bowater, who was with an aunt in
London, heard that a gentleman had called to see her while she was
out for a couple of days; and a week later we saw his name among the
passengers lost in the Hippolyta off Falmouth."
"Poor Jenny! Was she engaged to him?"
"On sufferance. On her death-bed Mrs. Douglas had wrung from Mr.
Bowater a promise that if Archie did well, and ever had means
enough, he would not refuse consent; but he always distrusted poor
Archie, because of his father, and I believe he sent Jenny away to
be out of his reach. If any of us had only been near, I think we
could have persuaded him to face it out, and trust to his innocence;
but Raymond was abroad, Miles at sea, I at Oxford, and nothing like
a counsellor was near. If Jenny had but seen him!"
"And has nothing happened to clear him?"
"No. Raymond hurried home, and did his best, but all in vain.
George Proudfoot was indeed known to have been in debt to Vivian;
but Moy, his brother-in-law, an older man, was viewed as a person
whose word was above all question, and they both declared the
signature at the back of the order not to be genuine.
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