the 1st of July--yes--but I have the date
here--came a telegram to the hotel to have rooms for Lady de Lyonnais
and Mr. Egremont ready by the evening. The whole place knew it, and
some meddling person burst on Alice with the news, roughly and coarsely
given, that they were coming to call her to account for her goings on.
Captain Egremont found her crying in the utmost terror, and--she really
hardly knew what he said to her--she thinks he offered to shelter her
on board the Ninon, from Lady de Lyonnais' first wrath while he and
Mrs. Houghton explained matters; but she cannot tell, for she lost her
senses with fright, only knew that he was kind and sweet to her in her
distress, and thought only of escaping. Well, I don't excuse her. Of
course it was the most terrible and fatal thing she could have done,
and--' The good old lady was quite overcome, and Lady Kirkaldy had
tears in her eyes as she said,

'It was frightful folly--but she was guarded.'

'Yes, her innocence was guarded, thank God,' said Miss Headworth
fervently. 'You see she did know that Mr. and Mrs. Houghton were on
board, and Mrs. Houghton was a truly kind protector who deserved her
confidence, though, poor lady, she admitted to me that her own conduct
had not been-strictly correct.'

'How long was it before you heard of her?'

'There was a dreadful letter from Mr. Egremont enclosing what was due
of her salary, and then I heard no more for seven months. I went to
the Isle of Wight and made all inquiries, but the nurse and children
had gone away immediately, and I could obtain no trace of them.'

'Then she--your niece, never wrote.'

'She was afraid, poor dear. She had never been at her ease with me.
Her mother had taught her to think me strict and harsh, and she had
never opened to me in those days. Besides, he had forbidden her. At
last, however, in January, came a letter from this Mrs. Houghton,
telling me that my Alice was very unwell at Dieppe, that nothing had
been heard of her husband, Captain Egremont, to whom she had been
married on the 20th of July at St. Philippe, in Jersey, and that she
herself was obliged to leave the place almost immediately; but she
would, if possible, wait till my arrival, as Mrs. Egremont was not in a
condition to be left alone. My dear friends, with whom I was then
living, were as kind as possible, and set me free to go. I was there
in three days, and truly the dear, beautiful, merry girl I had parted
with on