remove the boy, and that he himself should
be present at the meeting.

Thus the first week was passed after Sir Marmaduke's return,--and a
most wretched time it was for all the party at Gregg's Hotel.

CHAPTER LXII.

LADY ROWLEY MAKES AN ATTEMPT.

[Illustration]

Nothing could be more uncomfortable than the state of Sir Marmaduke
Rowley's family for the first ten days after the arrival in London of
the Governor of the Mandarin Islands. Lady Rowley had brought with
her two of her girls,--the third and fourth,--and, as we know, had
been joined by the two eldest, so that there was a large family
of ladies gathered together. A house had been taken in Manchester
Street, to which they had intended to transfer themselves after a
single night passed at Gregg's Hotel. But the trouble and sorrow
inflicted upon them by the abduction of Mrs. Trevelyan's child, and
the consequent labours thrust upon Sir Marmaduke's shoulders had been
so heavy, that they had slept six nights at the hotel, before they
were able to move themselves into the house prepared for them. By
that time all idea had been abandoned of recovering the child by any
legal means to be taken as a consequence of the illegality of the
abduction. The boy was with his father, and the lawyers seemed to
think that the father's rights were paramount,--as he had offered a
home to his wife without any conditions which a court of law would
adjudge to be cruel. If she could shew that he had driven her to live
apart from him by his own bad conduct, then probably the custody of
her boy might be awarded to her, until the child should be seven
years old. But when the circumstances of the case were explained to
Sir Marmaduke's lawyer by Lady Rowley, that gentleman shook his head.
Mrs. Trevelyan had, he said, no case with which she could go into
court. Then by degrees there were words whispered as to the husband's
madness. The lawyer said that that was a matter for the doctors. If
a certain amount of medical evidence could be obtained to shew that
the husband was in truth mad, the wife could, no doubt, obtain the
custody of the child. When this was reported to Mrs. Trevelyan, she
declared that conduct such as her husband's must suffice to prove any
man to be mad; but at this Sir Marmaduke shook his head, and Lady
Rowley sat, sadly silent, with her daughter's hand within her own.
They would not dare to tell her that she could regain her child by
that plea.

During t