ay. I don't know who has taken your money. I may do naughty
things sometimes (indeed, I often do), but if you knew us Fitzgeralds
at home I think you would scarcely have accused me of this."

Honor walked into preparation outwardly calm, but inwardly she nursed a
burning volcano. She had great pride of race, and had often gloried in
the honourable name which she bore. That a Fitzgerald should be
suspected of so despicable a crime as stealing a sovereign seemed
little short of an affront to her whole family. It was a blot on their
good repute such as had never been placed there before. In days gone by
her ancestors had fought duels for far less insults; now, however, she
was obliged to submit to that horrible charge without making any
attempt to defend herself. The one means of proving her innocence was
closed to her. For Dermot's sake she must endure to be thought a thief!
Yes, a thief! She repeated the word under her breath, and the very
sound of it seemed to sting her. A Fitzgerald a thief! Oh, it was
impossible to bear the reproach! Surely even Dermot's future could not
compel her to such a sacrifice? Yes, it must and should. She knew it
was the dream of his life to become a Naval cadet, and that her father
and mother also cherished hopes for their youngest son's success. She
seemed, like the Argonauts of yore, "'twixt Scylla and Charybdis".
Which was the worse she could hardly decide, for Dermot to miss his
examination, or for herself to be sent home under the slur of such a
false accusation. Both seemed equally bad, but she reasoned that the
former would involve more disastrous consequences, and, therefore, was
the greater evil of the two.

She sat with her French grammar before her, mechanically looking at the
pages; but her thoughts were so busy that she did not take in a single
word of what she was reading, and would scarcely have known, if asked,
whether she was studying French or geometry. What must she do? Some
answer must be given to Miss Maitland to-morrow morning, and only one
was possible. At all costs she would persist in her determination not
to allow the affair to be mentioned to Dr. Winterton.

Janie, meanwhile, was in a hardly less disturbed state of mind. Never
for a moment was her faith in her friend shaken. The mass of evidence
was certainly strong, but it did not convince her. She knew Honor too
well for that, and would have taken her word against all the world.
Though she could not understand