Tregenza told herself, as a
right Luke Gospeler, she must proclaim her horrid discovery and let the
perdition of her husband's daughter be generally made manifest. She knew so
many were called, so few chosen. No girl had ever been more surely called
than Joan: her father's trumpet tongue had thundered the ways of
righteousness into her ears from her birth; but, after all, it began to
look as though she was not chosen. The circumstance, of course, if proved,
would rob her of every Luke Gospeler's regard. No weak pandering with
sentiment and sin was permitted in that fold. And Mrs. Tregenza had little
pity herself for unfortunate or mistaken women. Let a girl lose her
character and Thomasin usually refused to hear any plea of mercy from any
source. Only once did she find extenuating circumstances: in a case where a
ruined farmer's daughter brought an action for breach of promise and won
it, with heavy damages. But money acted in a peculiar way with this woman.
It put her conscience and her judgment out of focus, softened the outlines
of events, furnished excuses for unusual practices, gilded with a bright
lining even the blackest cloud of wrongdoing. Where Mrs. Tregenza could see
money she could see light. Money made her charitable, broad-minded, even
tolerant. She knew she loved it, and was careful to keep the fact out of
Gray Michael's sight as far as possible. She held the purse, and he felt
that it was in good hands, but cautioned her from time to time against the
awful danger of letting a lust for this world's wealth come between the
soul and God.
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