Secondly and chiefly, every new scandal of this nature
gave him a fresh opportunity of consigning her, temporarily, to the
lock-up. Only temporarily. Because Mr. Keith would be sure to bail her
out again in the morning, which meant another fifty francs in his
pocket.
This is exactly what had just taken place. Mr. Keith had bailed her
out, for the thirty-fourth time. She was at liberty once more, sobering
down.
Both the Duchess and Madame Steynlin pitied her, as only one woman can
pity another. Often the prayed to their respective Gods, Lutheran and
High Church, that she might be led to see the error of her ways or,
failing that, removed by some happy accident from the island or,
failing that, run over by a passing vehicle and injured--injured not
dangerously, but merely to such an extent as to necessitate her
permanent seclusion from society. Other careless folk were maimed by
the furious driving of the Nepentheans; it was a common form of
accident. Miss Wilberforce--the eye-sore, the scandal of her
sex--remained intact.
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