, laughing.

But the smile passed away as he saw the malignant look in the woman's
face.

"Humphrey!" she exclaimed, and as she uttered the name she spat upon the
ground--"Humphrey shall go. Humphrey shall not stay here. I hate him!
His being here is a curse to me."

"Her own son. The woman is crazy," thought Trevor; and he looked
anxiously in her eyes.

"Mrs Lloyd," he began; but she caught him by the other wrist, and her
strength in her excitement was prodigious.

"Richard," she exclaimed, "will you mind me--will you do as I wish, and
marry Polly?"

"Come to the house, and let's talk about it there, nurse," he said,
kindly.

"No--no! here--here! I say you _shall_ have her, or, mark me, you shall
rue it. There, I know what you think; but I'm as sane as you are--more
sane, for you would throw yourself away, and I won't let you."

"Come, Mrs Lloyd, there must be an end to this. Come to the house."

"Stay where you are, boy," she cried, with her eyes flashing. "Will you
obey me?"

"No--no--no," said Trevor, impatiently, and he tried to extricate
himself. "Nurse, you are mad."

"Don't call me nurse," she cried, viciously. "Do as I bid you, or I'll
make you rue it till your deathbed. But, no, I can't do that. Richard,
you shall mind me--you shall obey me in this. I have a right to be
minded."

"Mrs Lloyd, you have gone to the extent of your right, and beyond it;
from henceforth you and your husband must find another home. You shall
have a comfortable income, but this cannot go on. There, I cannot leave
you in this way--come up to the house."

He tried to lead her, but she broke away.

"You will have it then?" she hissed, in a hoarse whisper. "Richard, is
this the way you treat your mother?"

"My--"

Trevor started back to the extent of their arms, looking at the woman
aghast. The fancy that she was distraught had passed away during the
last few minutes, and there was such an air of decision and truth in her
words and looks that he staggered beneath the shock. The past, her
determined action, her opposition to his will--so different to the
behaviour of a dependent, and explained at the time on the score of old
service--and many little words and looks, notably her passionate embrace
on the night of the encounter in the study, all came back to him like a
flash, and he could find no words for quite a minute.

"It's a lie!" he said at last. "Woman, how dare you? My father was too
honour