Badly as he had himself behaved to Mary, he was now furious with
his wife for having treated her so heartlessly that she could not
return to her service; for he began to think she might be one to
depend upon, and to desire her alliance in the matter of ousting
Sepia from the confidence of his wife.
However indifferent a woman may be to the opinion of her husband,
he can nevertheless in general manage to make her uncomfortable
enough if he chooses; and Mr. Redmain did choose now, in the
event of her opposition to his wishes: when he set himself to do
a thing, he hated defeat even more than he loved success.
The moment Mary was out of the study, he walked into his wife's
boudoir, and shut the door behind him. His presence there was
enough to make her angry, but she took no notice of it.
"I understand, Mrs. Redmain," he began, "that you wish to bring
the fate of Sodom upon the house."
"I do not know what you mean," she answered, scarcely raising her
eyes from her novel--and spoke the truth, for she knew next to
nothing of the Bible, while the Old Testament was all the
literature Mr. Redmain was "up in."
"You have turned out of it the only just person in it, and we
shall all be in hell soon!"
"How dare you come to my room with such horrid language!"
"You'll hear worse before long, if you keep on at this rate. My
language is not so bad as your actions.
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