So, little by little, the story of the family came out.  Arthur had
been dead six years.  This loss, with the absence of news from Hendon,
impaired the father’s health; he believed he was going to die, and he
wished to see Hugh and Edith settled in life before he passed away; but
Edith begged hard for delay, hoping for Miles’s return; then the letter
came which brought the news of Miles’s death; the shock prostrated Sir
Richard; he believed his end was very near, and he and Hugh insisted
upon the marriage; Edith begged for and obtained a month’s respite,
then another, and finally a third; the marriage then took place by
the death-bed of Sir Richard.