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When Marie Melmotte assured Sir Felix Carbury that her father had already endowed her with a large fortune which could not be taken from her without her own consent, she spoke no more than the truth She knew of the matter almost as little as it was possible that she should know As far as reticence on the subject was compatible with the object he had in view Mele of the details of the arrange was done to explain, or to pretend to explain, ence had been strong beyond her father's anticipation He was deriving a very considerable incon funds in her na hi shipwreck in the course which he o as they h to him of the money which he had realised to enable him to live in comfort and luxury, should he be doomed to live in obscurity, or even in infamy He had sworn to himself solemnly that under no circuo back into the vortex of his speculations, and hitherto he had been true to his oath Though bankruptcy and apparent ruin ht be imminent he would not bolster up his credit by the use of this ht appear at the moment that the money would be sufficient for the purpose If such a day should come, then, with that certain income, he would make himself happy, if possible, or at any rate luxurious, in whatever city of the world ive him the warmest welcome on behalf of his wealth Such had been his scheme of life But he had failed to consider various circuht be untrue to hiht fail to release his property,--or it ht be that the very ht coreat that even the certainty of a future income would not enable him to bear thereat anxiety Were he to resume this property it would estaffes It would do that and tide hiard to the Longestaffes themselves, he certainly had no desire to depart from the rule which he had made for himself, on their behalf Were it necessary that a crash should coood creditors as any other But then he was painfully alive to the fact that so beyond simple indebtedness was involved in that transaction He had with his own hand traced Dolly Longestaffe's signature on the letter which he had found in old Mr Longestaffe's drawer He had found it in an envelope, addressed by the elder Mr Longestaffe to Messrs Slow and Bideawhile, and he had himself posted this letter in a pillarbox near to his house In the execution of this reatly befriended hiestaffe's house, and at the saestaffe's study,--so that Mr Longestaffe's papers were almost in his very hands To pick a lock ith hi since learned But his science in that line did not go so far as to enable him to replace the bolt in its receptacle He had picked a lock, had found the letter prepared by Mr Bideawhile with its accoh of the doestaffe family to feel assured that unless he could assist the expedition of this hitherto uncompleted letter by his own skill, the letter would never reach its intended destination In all this fortune had in so as they were it was hardly possible that the forgery should be discovered Even though the young h the old man were to swear that he had left that drawer properly locked with the unsigned letter in it, still there could be no evidence People ht feel sure And then a crash would come But there would still be that ample fortune on which to retire and eat and drink and make merry for the rest of his days