Page:The Star in the Window.pdf/303

Rh How could he tell this lady that his knowledge of Rebecca was almost as meager as hers? How could he expose facts, lay bare discrepancies that would make her respect his marriage less? The irregularity of his meeting with Rebecca, his stealthy courtship, the straw-wedding that had followed so abruptly, were all thorns in the sensitive Nathaniel Cawthorne's side, that pricked deeper and deeper, as he became more familiar with the illuminating ways and manners, social laws and customs of the world of Mrs. Barton and her son.