omposed. All during breakfast-time they were silent and
uncomfortable. As soon as the breakfast things were taken away, and
the children had been carried upstairs, Mr Chadwick began, in an
evidently preconcerted manner, to inquire if his nephew was certain
that all his servants were honest; for, that Mrs Chadwick had that
morning missed a very valuable brooch, which she had worn the
day before. She remembered taking it off when she came home from
Buckingham Palace. Mr Openshaw's face contracted into hard lines; grew
like what it was before he had known his wife and her child. He rang
the bell, even before his uncle had done speaking. It was answered by
the housemaid.

'Mary, was anyone here last night, while we were away?'

'A man, sir, came to speak to Norah.'

'To speak to Norah! Who was he? How long did he stay?'

'I'm sure I can't tell, sir. He came--perhaps about nine. I went up to
tell Norah in the nursery, and she came down to speak to him. She let
him out, sir. She will know who he was, and how long he stayed.'

She waited a moment to be asked any more questions, but she was not,
so she went away.

A minute afterwards Mr Openshaw made as though he were going out of
the room; but his wife laid her hand on his arm.

'Do not speak to her before the children,' she said, in her low, quiet
voice. 'I will go up and question her.'

'No! I must speak to her. You must know,' said he, turning to his
uncle and aunt, 'my missus has an old servant, as faithful as ever
woman was, I do believe, as far as love goes,--but at the same time,
who does not speak truth, as even the missus must allow. Now,
my notion is, that this Norah of ours has been come over by some
good-for-nothing chap (for she's at the time o' life when they say
women pray for husbands--"any, good Lord, any") and has let him into
our house, and the chap has made off with your brooch, and m'appen
many another thing beside. It's only saying that Norah is soft-hearted
and doesn't stick at a white lie--that's all, missus.'

It was curious to notice how his tone, his eyes, his whole face was
changed, as he spoke to his wife; but he was the resolute man through
all. She knew better than to oppose him; so she went upstairs, and
told Norah that her master wanted to speak to her, and that she would
take care of the children in the meanwhile.

Norah rose to go, without a word. Her thoughts were these:

'If they tear me to pieces, they shall never know through