been made up to nothing!

His mother gave him no peace on this subject. It was she who began
the conversation on this occasion.

"John," she said, "the time has come for me to settle the question of
my residence."

Now the house at Twickenham was the property of the present baronet,
but Lady Ball had a jointure of five hundred a year out of her late
husband's estate. It had always been intended that the mother should
continue to live with her son and grandchildren in the very probable
event of her being left a widow; and it was felt by them all that
their means were not large enough to permit, with discretion,
separate households; but Lady Ball had declared more than once with
extreme vehemence that nothing should induce her to live at the
Cedars if Margaret Mackenzie should be made mistress of the house.

"Has the time come especially to-day?" he asked in reply.

"I think we may say it has come especially to-day. We know now that
you have got this increase to your income, and nothing is any longer
in doubt that we cannot ourselves settle. I need not say that my
dearest wish is to remain here, but you know my mind upon that
subject."

"I cannot see any possible reason for your going."

"Nor can I--except the one. I suppose you know yourself what you mean
to do about your cousin. Everybody knows what you ought to do after
the disgraceful things that have been put into all the newspapers."

"That has not been Margaret's fault."

"I am by no means so sure of that. Indeed, I think it has been her
fault; and now she has made herself notorious by being at this
bazaar, and by having herself called a ridiculous name by everybody.
Nothing will make me believe but what she likes it."

"You are ready to believe any evil of her, mother; and yet it is not
two years since you yourself wished me to marry her."

"Things are very different since that; very different indeed. And I
did not know her then as I do now, or I should never have thought of
such a thing, let her have had all the money in the world. She had
not misbehaved herself then with that horrible curate."

"She has not misbehaved herself now," said the son, in an angry
voice.

"Yes, she has, John," said the mother, in a voice still more angry.

"That's a matter for me to judge. She has not misbehaved herself
in my eyes. It is a great misfortune,--a great misfortune for us
both,--the conduct of this man; but I won't allow it to be said that
it was her fault