“Yes, Kitty, I do think so. In fact, I know that Mr. Carleton didn’t give Madeleine the heart-whole affection that she gave him. But I hoped it would all turn out right, and I surely never dreamed it was such a serious matter as to bring Madeleine to this. But she was a reserved, proud nature, and if she thought Mr. Carleton had ceased to love her, I know she would far rather die than marry him.”

“But she could have refused to marry him,” cried Molly. “She didn’t have to kill herself to get rid of him.”

“She didn’t kill herself,” stubbornly repeated Kitty, but Mrs. Markham said: