Out of her sphere - University Library

148 OUT OF UER SPHERE.
conclusion was inevitable, or seemed so to
every one present, that that cry had been
uttered while Audley Dale was in the
Fort.
After this there was a pause ;
there was
nothing further to be said or done till it
was ascertained whether or not the cravat
would be produced, but every one was
drawing his own conclusions, framing his
own theory of the matter; and on the whole,
with a few slight variations, each person's
theory was pretty much the same. Audley
Dale had grown weary of the woman he
had wronged, she had chafed him with her
jealousy, or her importunities, and in a fit
of passion he had struck her down. That
was the most merciful theory; the other
was, that he had drawn her to the Fort
with the intention of luring her to her end.
But every one was unanimous in one thing,
and that was, that Audley Dale was Mrs.
Thornton's murderer.