ou as a prisoner whilst you are with us."

"If he wants to see me I must see him."

They looked at one another. Aunt Anne was like a man just then.

"Very well. Until you give us your promise we must see ourselves that
you do not disgrace us."

There was no more to be said. It was as though a heavy iron door had
rolled to.

Aunt Anne passed Maggie and left the room.

Well, then, there was the situation. As she remained in the empty room
she felt relief because now she knew where she was.

If only she could keep in touch with Martin then nothing else at all
mattered. But that must be, otherwise she felt that she would rush at
them all and tread them down and break doors and windows to get at him.

Meanwhile, how they must all have been talking! She felt no especial
anger against Caroline Smith. It had been her own fault for trusting
that note to her honour. Caroline had no honour, of course. Maggie
might have guessed that from the way that she talked about other
people. And then probably she herself was in love with Martin ... She
sat down, staring in front of her, thinking. They all knew, Amy
Warlock, Mr. Thurston, Miss Avies--knew about that wonderful,
marvellous thing, her love for Martin, his for her. They were turning
it over in their hands, soiling it, laughing at it, sneering at it. And
what were they doing to Martin? At that thought she sprang up and began
hurriedly to walk about. Oh, they must leave him alone! What were they
saying to him? They were telling him how ridiculous it was to have
anything to do with a plain, ugly girl! And he? Was he defending her?
At the sudden suggestion of his disloyalty indignation fought in her
with some strange, horrible suspicion. Yes, it would come back, that
thought. He was weak. He had told her that he was. He was weak. She
KNEW that he was. She would not lie to herself. And then at the thought
of his weakness the maternal love in her that was the strongest
instinct in her character flooded her body and soul, so that she did
not mind if he were weak, but only wanted to defend him, to protect him
...

Strangely, she felt more sure of him at that moment when she was
conscious of his weakness than she had been when she asserted his
strength. Beneath that weakness he would be true to her because he
needed her. No one else could give him what she did; he had said so
again and again. And it would always be so. He would have to come back
to her however often he denied he