generous fought
with their native avarice, so that in the end the furniture fetched
neither more nor less than had been expected, which was little enough.
She kept back enough to establish herself and Mark in rooms, should she
be successful in finding some unfurnished rooms sufficiently cheap to
allow her to take them, although how she was going to live for more than
two years on what she had was a riddle of which after a month of
sleepless nights she had not found the solution.

In the end, and as Mrs. Lidderdale supposed in answer to her prayers,
the solution was provided unexpectedly in the following letter:

Haverton House,

Elmhurst Road,

Slowbridge.

November 29th.

Dear Grace,

I have just received a letter from James written when he was at the
point of death in Africa. It appears that in his zeal to convert
the heathen to Popery he omitted to make any provision for his wife
and child, so that in the event of his death, unless either your
relatives or his relatives came forward to support you I was given
to understand that you would be destitute. I recently read in the
daily paper an account of the way in which your father Mr. Trehawke
lost his life, and I caused inquiries to be made in Rosemarket
about your prospects. These my informant tells me are not any too
bright. You will, I am sure, pardon my having made these inquiries
without reference to you, but I did not feel justified in offering
you and my nephew a home with my sister Helen and myself unless I
had first assured myself that some such offer was necessary. You
are probably aware that for many years my brother James and myself
have not been on the best of terms. I on my side found his
religious teaching so eccentric as to repel me; he on his side was
so bigoted that he could not tolerate my tacit disapproval. Not
being a Ritualist but an Evangelical, I can perhaps bring myself
more easily to forgive my brother's faults and at the same time
indulge my theories of duty, as opposed to forms and ceremonies,
theories that if carried out by everybody would soon transform our
modern Christianity. You are no doubt a Ritualist, and your son has
no doubt been educated in the same school. Let me hasten to give
you my word that I shall not make the least attempt to interfere
either with your religious pract