Sir Patrick shook his head.

“It is not easy to tell you,” he said, “without entering into the legal aspect of the case.  I shall only puzzle you if I do that.  Suppose we look at the matter in its social bearings—­I mean, as it may possibly affect you and Blanche, and your unborn children?”

Arnold gave the hat a tighter twist than ever.  “I never thought of the children,” he said, with a look of consternation.

“The children may present themselves,” returned Sir Patrick, dryly, “for all that.  Now listen.  It may have occurred to your mind that the plain way out of our present dilemma is for you and Miss Silvester, respectively, to affirm what we know to be the truth—­namely, that you never had the slightest intention of marrying each other.  Beware of founding any hopes on any such remedy as that!  If you reckon on it, you reckon without Geoffrey Delamayn.  He is interested, remember, in proving you and Miss Silvester to be man and wife.  Circumstances may arise—­I won’t waste time in guessing at what they may be—­which will enable a third person to produce the landlady and the waiter at Craig Fernie in evidence against you—­and to assert that your declaration and Miss Silvester’s declaration are the result of collusion between you two.  Don’t start!  Such things have happened before now.  Miss Silvester is poor; and Blanche is rich.  You may be made to stand in the awkward position of a man who is denying his marriage with a poor woman, in order to establish his marriage with an heiress:  Miss Silvester presumably aiding the fraud, with two strong interests of her own as inducements—­the interest of asserting the claim to be the wife of a man of rank, and the interest of earning her reward in money for resigning you to Blanche.  There is a case which a scoundrel might set up—­and with some appearance of truth too—­in a court of justice!”

“Surely, the law wouldn’t allow him to do that?”

“The law will argue any thing, with any body who will pay the law for the use of its brains and its time.  Let that view of the matter alone now.  Delamayn can set the case going, if he likes, without applying to any lawyer to help him.  He has only to cause a report to reach Blanche’s ears which publicly asserts that she is not your lawful wife.  With her temper, do you suppose she would leave us a minute’s peace till the matter was cleared up?  Or take it the other way.  Comfort yourself, if you will, with the idea that this affair will trouble nobody in the present.  How are we to know it may not turn up in the future under circumstances which may place the legitimacy of your children in doubt?  We have a man to deal with who sticks at nothing.  We have a state of the law which can only be described as one scandalous uncertainty from beginning to end.  And we have two people (Bishopriggs and Mrs. Inchbare) who can, and will, speak to what took place between you and Anne Silvester at the inn.  For Blanche’s sake, and for the sake of your unborn children, we must face this matter on the spot—­and settle it at once and forever.  The question before us now is this.  Shall we open the proceedings by communicating with Miss Silvester or not?”