“I believe,” said Robert, in the same solemn, relentless voice, “that my friend never left Essex; and I believe that he died on the 7th of September last.”
“Oh! No, no – for God’s sake, no!” he shrieked hoarsely. “No! you don’t know what you say – you don’t know what you ask me to think – you don’t know what your words mean!” (172)
In this passage as Mr. Maldon is informed of George’s death, his adamant refusal and grief stricken reception of this news affirms our suspicions that he has been hiding something. Mr. Maldon’s repetition of the word “no” could be interpreted as the disbelief he claims, but it could also be regret and sadness for the implications of what the circumstances of George’s death must mean. He also says “you don’t know what you ask me to think” and “you don’t know what your words mean,” implying that he is hiding something from Robert, either about George or about “the pretty lady.” As Robert already suspects Lady Audley’s involvement in George’s death, I believe Mr. Maldon must know something about Lady Audley, as well. The phrase “you don’t know what your words mean” may also have deeper meaning for the novel as a whole with the themes of secrets and maybe we as readers do not yet know what some things mean.
From the use of the words solemn and shrieked, it seems as if there is some worse sadness here for Mr. Maldon than the death of his son in law, whom he didn’t seem to like very much. Later Mr. Maldon mentions an officer arresting a murderer and not implicating other people, although Robert has not mentioned murder or anyone he might implicate. This raises questions of whether Mr. Maldon is trying to protect Lady Audley and why? Is Lady Audley really Helen Talboys and Mr. Maldon cannot bear to think of his daughter murdering her husband? Is there someone else he is trying to protect?
I picked up on that reaction as well, taking it to be a clear indication that Mr. Maldon is protecting his daughter, Helen Talboys. I believe Helen ran away to begin a new life and left her child with the grandfather. She was very distraught by George’s abandonment, but equally upset at being faced with the sudden poverty of George’s disinheritance. She assumed he would always be able to provide for her and her child because of his military service. So, she hadn’t considered that he would return, so she felt free to reinvent herself. In her desire to escape the poverty and alcoholism of her father, she abandons her father to find a new life. She has learned to be a manipulator, and now, as Lady Audley, has the financial means to support both her father and her son, as long as her father keeps her secret. I believe that is why Mr. Maldon is so upset at the thought that George has been murdered. There is only one person who is threatened by his return, and if Lady Audley were exposed, she and her father would lose everything. But, thinking his daughter might be guilty of murder means he can’t deny that she is a beautiful monster, and one he helped create.