"And she refused you on account of your position in life.""No. I had foreseen that obstacle, and had followed the example of the adventurous nobleman in the old story. Like him, I assumed a name, and presented myself as belonging to her own respectable middle class of life. You are too old a friend to suspect me of vanity if I tell you that she had no objection to me, and no suspicion that I had approached her (personally speaking) under a disguise.""What motive could she possibly have had for refusing you?" **** asked.
"A motive associated with her dead husband," Beaucourt answered.