“After our meeting at Northamptonshire, I did not hear from Miss Crawford for several months. A few days after my arrival at Tunbridge Wells, I was taken completely by surprise by her appearance there. She was come thither with her brother, she said, to escape London, but I now know her sole purpose was to reunite with me. Miss Crawford affected not to have known that I was there; still her presence in the town baffled me, for I had informed only my family that I intended to spend my time at Tunbridge before leaving to meet you on the continent. I did not discover the reason for her knowledge of my whereabouts until the investigation was begun into the death of my brother—this is a very shocking story, my dearest, and please stop me at any time if you cannot bear to hear the awful truths.”

Georgiana assured him that she was ready to hear anything that was necessary for her to understand the history—his history—and with gentle words and an earnest look of her soft eyes, bade him continue; but before doing so, he stopt to purchase a large, shining orange from a cart on the square, and, removing his gloves, took out his hand-kerchief and wiped off Betsey’s dirty little fingers, saying, “I think carrying around a sack of kittens all over London makes one quite hungry, does it not?” And, peeling the orange, he gave it to her. Betsey stared and started away as if she were being handed an hot coal. “Have you never had an orange before, Betsey?” Betsey looked up fearfully at Georgiana for approval. Georgiana bent down and took a piece from the orange and shewed Betsey how to eat it, describing how sweet and cool it was. Betsey took possession of her orange in the proprietary way of children, savouring each slice in turn as they walked along.

“Following my initial acquaintance with Miss Crawford before Christmas, she immediately returned to town after being jilted by another man, the elder son of a baronet from Northamptonshire, with whom she had apparently aspired to marry; there are some particulars I do not need to relate regarding a younger brother, and a serious illness of the older. At any rate, she soon resumed her association with my brother and, before long, they were seen regularly out together in London society. Mr. Gardiner’s Bow Street acquaintance discovered that my brother had actually been living in the same house with Miss Crawford for some months before he cast her out! The enormity of her conduct might be considered by some as partially expiated by the expectation that he was going to marry her. Unfortunately, my brother was very unlikely to have any such intention, especially given the wretched state of his debts, and soon tired of her.”