love and to make him more than ever long for her
happiness.

"He's your father; you believe that?" said the woman, who had been
looking at him as though she would read his very soul.

"Yes," he replied.

"And she is your sister."

"Yes."

"Then if your birth is honourable, hers is base," said the mother
passionately. Even at that moment the longing to do justice to her son
was uppermost in her mind and heart. "I am his true wife; remember
that! He married me. I can't be robbed of that, Paul, can I?"

He saw what her questions meant, knew the thought that was burning in
her brain, realised her mad desire to proclaim her right as a wife and
as an honourable mother.

Paul Stepaside loved his mother, and never more than then. All those
feelings of filial affection which had been aroused in his heart by the
remembrance of her sad story were intensified at that moment. Yes, she
was his mother, and she must have her rights. But if she had them?

That was the question, the supreme question. His desire for revenge
had lost its power now. A new motive force was at work, a new set of
circumstances clamoured for recognition.

Oh, what a muddle life was! Who could explain its mystery? Who could
unravel the entanglement?

The steps of the warder were heard in the corridor outside, and Paul
knew that his mother's visit must come to an end.

"What will you do? What will you do?" she asked.

"I must wait--I must think," was his reply. "Of course, you have told
nothing to anyone else?"

"No, Paul. How could I?"

"And that man has no suspicion?"

"No; he did not see me."

He could not see a ray of light in the darkness anyhow. He saw no
means whereby he could solve this great puzzle. Everything was mad
confusion.

He heard the key turning in the lock.

"I must wait; I must think, think, mother. Meanwhile, do nothing."

The door opened, and a moment later his mother left the cell, leaving
Paul alone.

CHAPTER XX

MAN AND WIFE

A number of men were dining in the principal hotel in Manchester. They
all belonged to the legal profession, and had been drawn thither by the
assizes which were being held. Most of them were men who had won a
position in the realm of the law, and were now visiting Manchester
because their profession had called them thither. They were attached
to the Northern Circuit, and were doing their best to make their stay
in the smoky metropolis as pleasant as possible.