LadyLundielookedfromonetotheotherwithunconcealedimpatienceastheseformalcourtesieswereexchangedbetweenthelawyers。“Allowmetoremindyou，gentlemen，ofthesuspensethatwearesufferingatthisendoftheroom，“shesaid。“Andpermitmetoaskwhenyouproposetobegin？“
SirPatricklookedinvitinglyatMr。Moy。Mr。MoylookedinvitinglyatSirPatrick。Moreformalcourtesies!apolitecontestthistimeastowhichofthetwolearnedgentlemenshouldpermittheothertospeakfirst!Mr。Moy’smodestyprovingtobequiteimmovable，SirPatrickendeditbyopeningtheproceedings。
“Iamhere，“hesaid，“toactonbehalfofmyfriend，Mr。ArnoldBrinkworth。Ibegtopresenthimtoyou，Mr。Moyasthehusbandofmyniece——towhomhewaslawfullymarriedontheseventhofSeptemberlast，attheChurchofSaintMargaret，intheparishofHawley，Kent。Ihaveacopyofthemarriagecertificatehere——ifyouwishtolookatit。“
Mr。Moy’smodestydeclinedtolookatit。
“Quiteneedless，SirPatrick!Iadmitthatamarriageceremonytookplaceonthedatenamed，betweenthepersonsnamed；butI