He smiled resignedly, and gave up the name of his client: 

Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.

That was enough for me—­I wanted to know no more.

Having reached this point in my narrative, it now becomes necessary to place the reader of these lines—­so far as Lady Verinder’s Will is concerned—­on a footing of perfect equality, in respect of information, with myself.

Let me state, then, in the fewest possible words, that Rachel Verinder had nothing but a life-interest in the property.  Her mother’s excellent sense, and my long experience, had combined to relieve her of all responsibility, and to guard her from all danger of becoming the victim in the future of some needy and unscrupulous man.  Neither she, nor her husband (if she married), could raise sixpence, either on the property in land, or on the property in money.  They would have the houses in London and in Yorkshire to live in, and they would have the handsome income—­and that was all.

When I came to think over what I had discovered, I was sorely perplexed what to do next.

Hardly a week had passed since I had heard (to my surprise and distress) of Miss Verinder’s proposed marriage.  I had the sincerest admiration and affection for her; and I had been inexpressibly grieved when I heard that she was about to throw herself away on Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.  And now, here was the man—­whom I had always believed to be a smooth-tongued impostor—­justifying the very worst that I had thought of him, and plainly revealing the mercenary object of the marriage, on his side!  And what of that?—­you may reply—­the thing is done every day.  Granted, my dear sir.  But would you think of it quite as lightly as you do, if the thing was done (let us say) with your own sister?

The first consideration which now naturally occurred to me was this.  Would Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite hold to his engagement, after what his lawyer had discovered for him?

It depended entirely on his pecuniary position, of which I knew nothing.  If that position was not a desperate one, it would be well worth his while to marry Miss Verinder for her income alone.  If, on the other hand, he stood in urgent need of realising a large sum by a given time, then Lady Verinder’s Will would exactly meet the case, and would preserve her daughter from falling into a scoundrel’s hands.

In the latter event, there would be no need for me to distress Miss Rachel, in the first days of her mourning for her mother, by an immediate revelation of the truth.  In the former event, if I remained silent, I should be conniving at a marriage which would make her miserable for life.

My doubts ended in my calling at the hotel in London, at which I knew Mrs. Ablewhite and Miss Verinder to be staying.  They informed me that they were going to Brighton the next day, and that an unexpected obstacle prevented Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite from accompanying them.  I at once proposed to take his place.  While I was only thinking of Rachel Verinder, it was possible to hesitate.  When I actually saw her, my mind was made up directly, come what might of it, to tell her the truth.