"Wonderful place this Lunnon, marm; I niver was up here afore and had
no idea that I should find folks so friendly. As I was a saying to my
friend Laryer Quest down at Boisingham yesterday----"
"Hullo, what's that?" she said. "Do you know the old man?"
"If you means Laryer Quest, why in course I do, and Mrs. Quest too.
Ah! she's a pretty one, she is."
Here the lady burst into a flood of incoherent abuse which tired her
so much that she had a fourth brandy-and-soda; George mixed it for her
and he mixed it strong.
"Is he rich?" she asked as she put down the glass.
"What! Laryer Quest? Well I should say that he is about the warmest
man in our part of the county."
"And here am I starving," burst out the horrible woman with a flood of
drunken tears. "Starving without a shilling to pay for a cab or a
drink while my wedded husband lives in luxury with another woman. You
tell him that I won't stand it; you tell him that if he don't find a
'thou.' pretty quick I'll let him know the reason why."
"I don't quite understand, marm," said George; "there's a lady down in
Boisingham as is the real Mrs. Quest."
"It's a lie!" she shrieked, "it's a lie! He married me before he
married her. I could have him in the dock to-morrow, and I would, too,
if I wasn't afraid of him, and that's a fact.
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