Read "A Woman's Burden" by Fergus Hume online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
"Farren -- Farren! " repeated Miriam thoughtfully, "yes, now I remember the name. Mr. Barton told me the whole story, how he bribed him to go to Australia and break off with Gerald's mother, and how in revenge she made mischief between Mr. Barton and the girl he was engaged to."
"Bribed him? " Mrs. Parsley rubbed her nose thoughtfully -- a sure sign with her that she was puzzled. "I don't know so much about the bribing, although that was the story Barton told. Flora Barton had five hundred a year of her own, and Farren was deeply in love with her -- no, I fancy it took something more than bribery to make him leave the woman and exile himself like that. I'm pretty sure Barton must have known something about the man's life, and so had him in his power."