this morning, who knows what, I think, is the truth, and who is in a state of mind about it;-she always is in a state of mind, you know-but, previous to her coming, I had an almost overwhelming amount of authority in my hands. I have deceived her, but I will not deceive you. Your child never died at all.'

Then if you allow that, and also allow my marriage, my son would succeed after Barri's removal.'

'Certainly.

James Drummond knows

it, and has traded on the fact. You can see

that now?'

'Perfectly, my lord.'

Do you remember George Drummond?' 'My lodger, why not?'

'Did you like him?'

'Yes, surely. He was very kind to me

the first night I came here. He was in that

miserable

mistake about Heloise, and

suffered for it. I took rather a fancy for

him.'

'Mary, that young man is your son.'

There was a dead silence, scarce broken by the passing carriages in the street. She sat with her head bent over the fire, without saying a word. Lord Festiniog rose quietly and withdrew, putting a packet of letters in her hand. When he was gone, she read them.

CHAPTER III.

MARY ARNAUD'S GREATEST TRIAL.

THEY were simply the letters of the woman Carlina, the ex-mistress of Drummond, who had, in a fit of combined jealousy and avarice, put the whole of the facts before Lord Festiniog, and part of them before Lady Rhyader. Nothing did that excellent woman ever write to Gervase. She knew that he would never believe a word of it, true as it was. She was a countrywoman of Catherine de Medici, and knew perfectly well what she was doing.

The facts were most simple: we see, in

this excellently ordered country of ours, stranger things every day. Drummond wished Mrs. Arnaud to be left alone in the world, and to be dependent on him. He had her child removed. Italy is no better than our unimpeachable England, and no worse. He paid freely, and the child was taken from her.

Carlina was his agent, but she nearly went too far. He had offered her a large reward to do the thing for him. Knowing the certainty of her falling ill at Ravenna, at a certain time of the year, Carlina had persuaded her to go there. She succeeded perfectly.

But she was not a woman in the least degree likely to leave herself without witMore people than she, in Ravenna, knew what had been done; in fact, the

nesses.

matter was so notorious, that she had to

divide the money which she got from Drummond amongst those who were in the secret. She always, however, gave Drummond the idea that she was the sole repository of the secret.

It was only when the people, little better than banditti, whom she had employed, got too pressing for her pocket, that she came to London. Drummond had supplied her with money liberally, but she was getting middleaged, and the continual calls on her worried her. She came to England with Drummond's money, and used it for the purpose of seeing if she could make a better bargain with Lord Festiniog. It seemed hopeless until she found that Drummond, with whom she renewed her acquaintance, was actually thinking of finding agents to remove Barri.

Drummond not only loved the mother, but he loved the son. The boy George