Camperdown be able to put her in prison, or to take away from her the
estate of Portray? She could swear that her husband had given them to her,
and could invent any form of words she pleased as accompanying the gift.
No one else had been near them then. But she was, and felt herself to be
absolutely, alarmingly ignorant, not only of the laws but of custom in
such matters. Messrs. Mowbray & Mopus and Mr. Benjamin were the allies to
whom she looked for guidance; but she was wise enough to know that Mowbray
& Mopus and Harter & Benjamin were not trustworthy, whereas Camperdown &
Son and the Messrs. Garnett were all as firm as rocks and as respectable
as the Bank of England. Circumstances--unfortunate circumstances--drove
her to Harter & Benjamin and to Mowbray & Mopus, while she would have
taken so much delight in feeling the strong honesty of the other people to
be on her side! She would have talked to her friends about Mr. Camperdown
and the people at Garnetts' with so much satisfaction! But ease, security,
and even respectability may be bought too dearly. Ten thousand pounds! Was
she prepared to surrender such a sum as that? She had, indeed, already
realized the fact that it might be very difficult to touch the money.
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