DEAR ABBY: I feel that I must respond to the 31-year-old woman whose "live-in" wants to be married secretly. I know the results of what has ensued in a similar situation.
The man had been married before and had a daughter. Although he had been separated from his wife for many years, they had never been divorced. The latter "wife" only discovered this when the man became seriously ill and his daughter was contacted.
You once printed something that I have never forgotten: "O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." -- A GRATEFUL READER WHOM YOU ONCE HELPED
DEAR GRATEFUL READER: I agree that the proposal of a secret marriage should not only raise a few eyebrows, but some suspicions as well. And I cannot take credit for that quote. It came from Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) -- and it's certainly appropriate.