Lady
Mason. Sir Peregrine repeated his apology, collected his hat and
gloves, and with slow step made his way down to his cab, while Mr.
Round absolutely waited upon him till he saw him seated within the
vehicle.

"So Mat is right after all," said the old attorney to himself as he
stood alone with his back to his own fire, thrusting his hands into
his trousers-pockets. "So Mat is right after all!" The meaning of
this exclamation will be plain to my readers. Mat had declared to
his father his conviction that Lady Mason had forged the codicil in
question, and the father was now also convinced that she had done so.
"Unfortunate woman!" he said; "poor, wretched woman!" And then he
began to calculate what might yet be her chances of escape. On the
whole he thought that she would escape. "Twenty years of possession,"
he said to himself "and so excellent a character!" But, nevertheless,
he repeated to himself over and over again that she was a wretched,
miserable woman.

We may say that all the persons most concerned were convinced, or
nearly convinced, of Lady Mason's guilt. Among her own friends Mr.
Furnival had no doubt of it, and Mr. Chaffanbrass and Mr. Aram but
very little; whereas Sir Peregrine and Mrs. Orme of course had none.
On the other side Mr. Mason and Mr. Dockwrath were both fully sure of
the truth, and the two Rounds, father and son, were quite of the same
mind. And yet, except with Dockwrath and Sir Peregrine, the most
honest and the most dishonest of the lot, the opinion was that she
would escape. These were five lawyers concerned, not one of whom gave
to the course of justice credit that it would ascertain the truth,
and not one of whom wished that the truth should be ascertained.
Surely had they been honest-minded in their profession they would
all have so wished;--have so wished, or else have abstained from all
professional intercourse in the matter. I cannot understand how any
gentleman can be willing to use his intellect for the propagation
of untruth, and to be paid for so using it. As to Mr. Chaffanbrass
and Mr. Solomon Aram,--to them the escape of a criminal under their
auspices would of course be a matter of triumph. To such work
for many years had they applied their sharp intellects and legal
knowledge. But of Mr. Furnival;--what shall we say of him?

Sir Peregrine went home very sad at heart, and crept silently back
into his own library. In the evening, when he was alone with Mrs.
Orme, he spo