He was therefore
somewhat anxious when Mr Middlemas, after a
private conference of some length with the lady,
bade him farewell. It is true, he assured him of
his return within ten days, being the very shortest
space which Gray could be prevailed upon to assign
for any prospect of the lady being moved with
safety.
``I trust in Heaven that he will return,'' said
Gray to himself, ``but there is too much mystery
about all this, for the matter being a plain and well-meaning
transaction. If he intends to treat this poor
thing, as many a poor girl has been used before, I
hope that my house will not be the scene in which
he chooses to desert her. The leaving the money
has somewhat a suspicious aspect, and looks as if
my friend were in the act of making some compromise
with his conscience. Well---I must hope the
best. Meantime my path plainly is to do what I
can for the poor lady's benefit.''
Mr Gray visited his patient shortly after Mr Middlemas's
departure---as soon, indeed, as he could
be admitted. He found her in violent agitation.
Gray's experience dictated the best mode of relief
and tranquillity. He caused her infant to be brought
to her. She wept over it for a long time, and the
violence of her agitation subsided under the influence
of parental feelings, which, from her appearance
of extreme youth, she must have experienced
for the first time.
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