Gerald Martin

In the short story Philomel Cottage, Gerald Martin is the husband of Alix. He is actually Charles Lemaitre, an escaped swindler, bigamist and suspected murderer. Driven by her own insecurities about his past, Alix discovers the truth while searching his drawers and becomes convinced he plans to kill her. In order to buy herself time she tells Gerald a story about how she killed her previous husband by poisoning his coffee. Gerald, who had previously complained of his coffee being bitter, believes he has been poisoned and dies of shock.