Halcyone

Chapter 29

Mrs. Cricklander, at Carlsbad, was not altogether pleased to receive the

news of her _fianc's_ accession to fortune. She realized that John

Derringham was not the sort of man to give up his will to any woman

unless the woman had entirely the whip hand, as she would have had if he

had been dependent upon her for the financial aid wherewith to obtain

his ambitions. She would have practically no hold over him now, and,

when he was well, he was so attractive that she might even grow to care

too deeply for him for her own welfare. To allow herself to become in

love with a husband who was answerable to her for his very food and

lodging, and whom she could punish and keep in bondage when she pleased,

was quite a different matter to experiencing that emotion towards an

imperious, indepe