Sentence:  The first inroads on our laws of incest were made at the instigation, and by the secret management, of some of our "prime nobles," who had either seduced, or married, or pledged themselves to marry "a wife's sister"; and who wished by this <WSD>"finesse</WSD>", to escape, at once, public odium and personal responsibility; ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An adroit manoeuvre. (from mid 16th c.)