Sorry to see it."

"Is that why you came forward with a reward?" asked Mary.

But to this direct question Folliot made no answer. He muttered
something about the advisability of somebody doing something and went
away, to Mary's relief. She had no desire to discuss the Paradise
mysteries with anybody, especially after Ransford's assurance of the
previous evening. But in the middle of the afternoon in walked Mrs.
Folliot, a rare caller, and before she had been closeted with Mary five
minutes brought up the subject again.

"I want to speak to you on a very serious matter, my dear Miss Bewery,"
she said. "You must allow me to speak plainly on account of--of several
things. My--my superiority in--in age, you know, and all that!"

"What's the matter, Mrs. Folliot?" asked Mary, steeling herself against
what she felt sure was coming. "Is it--very serious? And--pardon me--is
it about what Mr. Folliot mentioned to me this morning? Because if it
is, I'm not going to discuss that with you or with anybody!"

"I had no idea that my husband had been here this morning," answered
Mrs. Folliot in genuine surprise. "What did he want to talk about?"

"In that case, what do you want to talk about?" asked Mary. "Though that
doesn't mean that I'm going to talk about it with you."

Mrs. Folliot made an effort to understand this remark, and after
inspecting her hostess critically for a moment, proceeded in her most
judicial manner.

"You must see, my dear Miss Bewery, that it is highly necessary that
some one should use the utmost persuasion on Dr. Ransford," she said.
"He is placing all of you--himself, yourself, your young brother--in
most invidious positions by his silence! In society such as--well,
such as you get in a cathedral town, you know, no man of reputation can
afford to keep silence when his--his character is affected."

Mary picked up some needlework and began to be much occupied with it.

"Is Dr. Ransford's character affected?" she asked. "I wasn't aware of
it, Mrs. Folliot."

"Oh, my dear, you can't be quite so very--so very, shall we say
ingenuous?--as all that!" exclaimed Mrs. Folliot. "These rumours!--of
course, they are very wicked and cruel ones, but you know they have
spread. Dear me!--why, they have been common talk!"

"I don't think my guardian cares twopence for common talk, Mrs.
Folliot," answered Mary. "And I am quite sure I don't."

"None of us--especially people in our position--can afford to ignore
r