"But there is a horrid
condition attached to it--"
"Something worse than perjury, Mr. Linzie? Murder?"
"I'll tell you directly, Lady Winwood. The marriage comes first. The
condition follows. There is only one chance for us. We must be married
by banns."
"Banns!" cried Natalie. "Why, banns are publicly proclaimed in church!"
"They needn't be proclaimed in _your_ church, you goose," said Lady
Winwood. "And, even if they were, nobody would be the wiser. You may
trust implicitly, my dear, in the elocution of an English clergyman!"
"That's just what my friend said," cried Launce. "'Take a lodging near
a large parish church, in a remote part of London'--(this is my friend's
advice)--'go to the clerk, tell him you want to be married by banns, and
say you belong to that parish. As for the lady, in your place I should
simplify it. I should say she belonged to the parish too. Give an
address, and have some one there to answer questions. How is the
clerk to know? He isn't likely to be over-anxious about it--his fee is
eighteen-pence.
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