ther was unjust to you--for your sake,--to remedy
that injustice, she did this thing."

"What; forged his name! It must be a lie. Though an angel came to
tell me so, it would be a lie! What; my mother!" And now he turned
round and faced her, still however lying on the sofa.

"It is true, Mr. Mason. Oh, how I wish that it were not! But you
must forgive her. It is years ago, and she has repented of it, Sir
Peregrine has forgiven her,--and I have done so."

And then she told him the whole story. She told him why the marriage
had been broken off, and described to him the manner in which the
truth had been made known to Sir Peregrine. It need hardly be said,
that in doing so, she dealt as softly as was possible with his
mother's name; but yet she told him everything. "She wrote it
herself, in the night."

"What all; all the names herself?"

"Yes, all."

"Mrs. Orme, it cannot be so. I will not believe it. To me it is
impossible. That you believe it I do not doubt, but I cannot. Let
me go to her. I will go to her myself. But even should she say so
herself, I will not believe it."

But she would not let him go up stairs even though he attempted to
move her from the door, almost with violence. "No; not till you say
that you will forgive her and be gentle with her. And it must not be
to-night. We will be up early in the morning, and you can see her
before we go;--if you will be gentle to her."

He still persisted that he did not believe the story, but it became
clear to her, by degrees, that the meaning of it all had at last sunk
into his mind, and that he did believe it. Over and over again she
told him all that she knew, explaining to him what his mother had
suffered, making him perceive why she had removed herself out of his
hands, and had leant on others for advice. And she told him also that
though they still hoped that the jury might acquit her, the property
must be abandoned.

"I will leave the house this night if you wish it," he said.

"When it is all over, when she has been acquitted and shall have gone
away, then let it be done. Mr. Mason, you will go with her; will you
not?" and then again there was a pause.

"Mrs. Orme, it is impossible that I should say now what I may do. It
seems to me as though I could not live through it. I do not believe
it. I cannot believe it."

As soon as she had exacted a promise from him that he would not go
to his mother, at any rate without further notice, she herself went