It was believed that the property in Ayrshire was her own, to do
what she pleased with it. That the property in Ayrshire was taken at
double its value was a matter of course. It had been declared, at the time
of his marriage, that Sir Florian had been especially generous to his
penniless wife, and the generosity was magnified in the ordinary way. No
doubt Lizzie's own diligence had done much to propagate the story as to
her positive ownership of Portray. Mr. Camperdown had been very busy
denying this. John Eustace had denied it whenever occasion offered. The
bishop in his quiet way had denied it. Lady Linlithgow had denied it. But
the lie had been set on foot and had thriven, and there was hardly a man
about town who didn't know that Lady Eustace had eight or nine thousand a
year, altogether at her own disposal, down in Scotland. Of course a woman
so endowed, so rich, so beautiful, so clever, so young, would marry again,
and would marry well. No doubt, added to this there was a feeling that
"Lizzie," as she was not uncommonly called by people who had hardly ever
seen her, had something amiss with it all. "I don't know where it is she's
lame," said that very clever man, Captain Boodle, who had lately
reappeared among his military friends at his club, "but she don't go flat
all round.
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