d been of no avail.
She could not tell him that tale with her own voice.

"Mother," he said, "what does this mean? I cannot understand such
grief as this." But for a while she was quite unable to answer. The
flood-gates were at length opened, and she could not restrain the
torrent of her sobbings.

"You do not understand how weak a woman can be," she said at last.

But in truth he understood nothing of a woman's strength. He sat down
by her, now and then taking her by the hand when she would leave it
to him, and in his way endeavoured to comfort her. All comfort, we
may say, was out of the question; but by degrees she again became
tranquil. "It shall be to-morrow as you will have it. You will not
object to her being with me also?"

He did object, but he could not say so. He would have much preferred
to be the only friend near to her, but he felt that he could not
deny her the solace of a woman's aid and a woman's countenance. "Oh
no," he said, "if you wish it." He would have found it impossible to
define even to himself the reason for his dislike to any assistance
coming from the family of the Ormes; but the feeling was there,
strong within his bosom.

"And when this is over, mother, we will go away," he said. "If you
would wish to live elsewhere, I will sell the property. It will be
better perhaps after all that has passed. We will go abroad for a
while."

She could make no answer to this except pressing his hand. Ah, if
he had been told--if she had allowed Mrs. Orme to do that kindness
for her, how much better for her would it now have been! Sell the
property! Ah, me! Were they not words of fearful sound in her
ears,--words of terrible import?

"Yes, it shall be so," she said, putting aside that last proposition
of his. "We will go together to-morrow. Mr. Aram said that he would
sit at my side, but he cannot object to your being there between us."
Mr. Aram's name was odious to Lucius Mason. His close presence would
be odious to him. But he felt that he could urge nothing against an
arrangement that had now become necessary. Mr. Aram, with all his
quibbles, had been engaged, and the trial must now be carried through
with all the Aram tactics.

After that Lucius left his mother, and took himself out into the dark
night, walking up and down on the road between his house and the
outer gate, endeavouring to understand why his mother should be so
despondent. That she must fear the result of the trial, he thought,