Paul Montague felt that he was surrounded by difficulties as soon as he read the letter. That his heart was all the other way he was quite sure; but yet it did seem to him that there was no escape from his troubles open to him. There was not a single word in this woman's letter that he could contradict. He had loved her and had promised to make her his wife,--and had determined to break his word to her because he found that she was enveloped in dangerous mystery. He had so resolved before he had ever seen Hetta Carbury, having been made to believe by Roger Carbury that a marriage with an unknown American woman,--of whom he only did know that she was handsome and clever,--would be a step to ruin. The woman, as Roger said, was an adventuress,--might never have had a husband,--might at this moment have two or three,--might be overwhelmed with debt,--might be anything bad, dangerous, and abominable. All that he had heard at San Francisco had substantiated Roger's views. "Any scrape is better than that scrape," Roger had said to him. Paul had believed his Mentor, and had believed with a double faith as soon as he had seen Hetta Carbury.

Paul Montague felt that he was surrounded by difficulties as soon as he read the letter. It did not seem that there was any escape open to him. There was not a single word in the letter that he could contradict. He had loved her and had promised to marry her - and had determined to break his word because, as Roger said, she was an adventuress, about whom he knew almost nothing. "Any scrape is better than that scrape," Roger had said, and Paul had believed him; and had believed doubly once he had met Hetta Carbury.
