it, he will trust you there,' said the mother, making a very
mild version of his speech about the umbrella-mongers.

'Yes, he wants to make me worldly, so that I should not care, but that
he never shall do, whatever you may let him do to you.'

His bell rang sharply, and away hurried Alice, leaving her daughter
with a miserably sore and impatient heart, and the consciousness of
having harshly wounded the mother whom she had meant to protect. And
there was no hugging and kissing to make up for it possible. They
would not meet till dinner-time, and Nuttie's mood of stormy repentance
had cooled before that time into longing to be more tender than usual
towards her mother, but how was that possible during the awful
household ceremony of many courses, with three solemn men-servants
ministering to them?

And poor Alice jumped up at the end, and ran away as if afraid of fresh
objurgations, so that all Nuttie could do was to rush headlong after
her, catch her on the landing, kiss her face all over, and exclaim,
'Oh, mother, mother, I was dreadfully cross!'

'There, there! I knew you would be sorry, dear, dear child, I know it
is very hard, but let me go. He wants me!'

And a very forlorn and deplorable person was left behind, feeling as if
her father, after carrying her away from everything else that she
loved, had ended by robbing her of her mother.

She stood on the handsome staircase, and contrasted it with the little
cosy entrance at her aunt's. She felt how she hated all these fine
surroundings, and how very good and unworldly she was for so doing.
Only, was it good to have been so violent towards her mother?

The Rectory folks were dining out, so she could only have recourse to
Mudie's box to try to drive dull care away.

A few days more and they were gone. Though Mr. Egremont was gradually
mending, he still required his wife to be in constant attendance. In
point of fact Alice could not, and in her loyalty would not, tell her
dignified brother-in-law, far less her daughter, of the hint that the
doctor had given her, namely, that her husband was lapsing into the
constant use of opiates, founded at first on the needs of his malady,
but growing into a perilous habit, which accounted for his shutting
himself up all the forenoon.

While under medical treatment it was possible to allowance him, and
keep him under orders, but Dr. Hamilton warned her not to allow the
quantity to be exceeded or the drugs to be re