what does "were to" here mean?

Question

What does "were to" mean here?

Indeed, I do not believe she could carry on a deception if she were to try, and if she did she would certainly be found out very quickly, for such a line of action is altogether foreign to her nature.

Answer 1

That is a subjunctive use of the verb "be." It indicates a statement that is known or believed (believed in this case) to be untrue. It has pretty much disappeared from modern U.S. English except in very formal prose. A translation to less old-fashioned and less verbose English might be:

I do not believe she would try to deceive because she is naturally honest, and even if she did try to do so, she would fail for the same reason.

In addition to being old-fashioned in its diction, which is no criticism, it is verbose and convoluted, which is a criticism. It is just terrible English.