er leaves in an hour. It will be far
better. Only for a few days, till she recovers and is removed."

"But may I not see her first?" he pleaded.

"Brace, my dear boy," said Mrs Norton, proudly, "would it be honourable
to take advantage of her position here? Too much has already passed for
your peace of mind. Go, now; and leave the house free to Sir Murray
Gernon to come and go untouched in his sensitiveness. You must fight
still, and bravely, too."

Without another word the young man slowly left the room; and before an
hour had elapsed Captain Norton and his son were on their way to
Marshton.

Book 2, Chapter XI.

A DISCOVERY.

Ten days elapsed before Dr Challen gave his consent for Isa to be
removed, and during that time she had been carefully tended by Mrs
Norton and Jane McCray, who had made her way to the Hall as soon as she
heard of the accident. But two days would have been sufficient to have
shown to Mrs Norton the character of the gentle, inartificial girl,
whose gratitude was extreme for every act of attention she received.
Hour after hour would Mrs Norton sit by her bedside watching her sleep;
but once, and once only, came a dread suspicion that made her heart leap
with agony.

She had driven that thought away, though, the next minute, as something
too hateful to be nurtured even for an instant. Then, kneeling down,
she prayed long and earnestly that, come what might, rest and happiness
should be the lot of her son, as well as that of the gentle spirit whom
she had already begun to love as a child of her own. For, irrespective
of a sweet disposition and clinging ways to attract her when the poor
motherless girl had been thrown, as it were, into her arms for
protection, there was the recollection of the past--the old affection
for her mother, and pity--shuddering pity--as she thought of her old
friend's mysterious fate and the sad position of her child.

Had she required more to interest her in Isa Gernon, Mrs Norton
possessed it in the knowledge that Brace loved her, that he had
confessed his love, and that Isa knew it. If such a thing could have
been possible, how Mrs Norton would have rejoiced in the union! But,
with many a sigh, she told herself that it could never be, and to the
best of her ability she strove to avoid all reference to her son.

That was a hard task to the loving mother, whose every thought turned to
the frank, handsome young fellow who was her pride--who had, year by