may give me the letter. I am Miss Halcombe."

The man touched his hat, got out of the fly immediately, and gave me
the letter.

I opened it at once and read these lines. I copy them here, thinking
it best to destroy the original for caution's sake.

"DEAR MADAM,--Your letter received this morning has caused me very
great anxiety. I will reply to it as briefly and plainly as possible.

"My careful consideration of the statement made by yourself, and my
knowledge of Lady Glyde's position, as defined in the settlement, lead
me, I regret to say, to the conclusion that a loan of the trust money
to Sir Percival (or, in other words, a loan of some portion of the
twenty thousand pounds of Lady Glyde's fortune) is in contemplation,
and that she is made a party to the deed, in order to secure her
approval of a flagrant breach of trust, and to have her signature
produced against her if she should complain hereafter. It is
impossible, on any other supposition, to account, situated as she is,
for her execution to a deed of any kind being wanted at all.

"In the event of Lady Glyde's signing such a document, as I am
compelled to suppose the deed in question to be, her trustees would be
at liberty to advance money to Sir Percival out of her twenty thousand
pounds. If the amount so lent should not be paid back, and if Lady
Glyde should have children, their fortune will then be diminished by
the sum, large or small, so advanced. In plainer terms still, the
transaction, for anything that Lady Glyde knows to the contrary, may be
a fraud upon her unborn children.

"Under these serious circumstances, I would recommend Lady Glyde to
assign as a reason for withholding her signature, that she wishes the
deed to be first submitted to myself, as her family solicitor (in the
absence of my partner, Mr. Gilmore). No reasonable objection can be
made to taking this course--for, if the transaction is an honourable
one, there will necessarily be no difficulty in my giving my approval.

"Sincerely assuring you of my readiness to afford any additional help
or advice that may be wanted, I beg to remain, Madam, your faithful
servant,

"WILLIAM KYRLE."

I read this kind and sensible letter very thankfully. It supplied
Laura with a reason for objecting to the signature which was
unanswerable, and which we could both of us understand. The messenger
waited near me while I was reading to receive his directions when I had
done.

"Will