might
have been. The advantage of such surroundings and education as Lord
Fauntleroy will have, I am sure you must see, will be very great."

He felt a little uneasy lest she should begin to cry or make a scene,
as he knew some women would have done. It embarrassed and annoyed him to
see women cry.

But she did not. She went to the window and stood with her face turned
away for a few moments, and he saw she was trying to steady herself.

"Captain Errol was very fond of Dorincourt," she said at last. "He loved
England, and everything English. It was always a grief to him that he
was parted from his home. He was proud of his home, and of his name. He
would wish--I know he would wish that his son should know the beautiful
old places, and be brought up in such a way as would be suitable to his
future position."

Then she came back to the table and stood looking up at Mr. Havisham
very gently.

"My husband would wish it," she said. "It will be best for my little
boy. I know--I am sure the Earl would not be so unkind as to try to
teach him not to love me; and I know--even if he tried--that my little
boy is too much like his father to be harmed. He has a warm, faithful
nature, and a true heart. He would love me even if he did not see me;
and so long as we may see each other, I ought not to suffer very much."

"She thinks very little of herself," the lawyer thought. "She does not
make any terms for herself."

"Madam," he said aloud, "I respect your consideration for your son. He
will thank you for it when he is a man. I assure you Lord Fauntleroy
will be most carefully guarded, and every effort will be used to insure
his happiness. The Earl of Dorincourt will be as anxious for his comfort
and well-being as you yourself could be."

"I hope," said the tender little mother, in a rather broken voice, "that
his grandfather will love Ceddie. The little boy has a very affectionate
nature; and he has always been loved."

Mr. Havisham cleared his throat again. He could not quite imagine the
gouty, fiery-tempered old Earl loving any one very much; but he knew it
would be to his interest to be kind, in his irritable way, to the child
who was to be his heir. He knew, too, that if Ceddie were at all a
credit to his name, his grandfather would be proud of him.

"Lord Fauntleroy will be comfortable, I am sure," he replied. "It was
with a view to his happiness that the Earl desired that you should be
near enough to him to see him f