re he was killed!"

"You poor children!" broke from the Duchess. "You poor--poor mad young
things!" and she put an arm about Robin because the barrier built by
lack of intimacy was wholly overthrown.

Robin trembled all over and looked up in her face.

"I may begin to cry," she quavered. "I do not want to trouble you by
beginning to cry. I must not."

"Cry if you want to cry," the Duchess answered.

"It will be better," said Lord Coombe, "if you can keep calm. It is
necessary that you should be calm enough to think--and understand. Will
you try? It is for Donal's sake."

"I will try," she answered, but her amazed eyes still yearningly
wondered at the Duchess. Her arm had felt almost like Dowie's.

"Which of us shall begin to explain to her?" the Duchess questioned.

"Will you? It may be better."

They were going to take care of her. She was not to be turned into the
street--though perhaps if she were turned into the street without money
she would die somewhere--and that would not matter because she would be
thankful.

The Duchess took one of her hands and held it on her knee. She looked
kind still but she was grave.

"Do not be frightened when I tell you that most people will _not_
believe what you say about your marriage," she said. "That is because it
is too much like the stories other girls have told when they were in
trouble. It is an easy story to tell when a man is dead. And in Donal's
case so much is involved that the law would demand proofs which could
not be denied. Donal not only owned the estate of Braemarnie, but he
would have been the next Marquis of Coombe. You have not remembered this
and--" more slowly and with a certain watchful care--"you have been too
unhappy and ill--you have not had time to realise that if Donal has a
son--"

She heard Robin's caught breath.

"What his father would have inherited he would inherit also. Braemarnie
would be his and in his turn he would be the Marquis of Coombe. It is
because of these important things that it would be said that it would be
immensely to your interest to insist that you were married to Donal Muir
and the law would not allow of any shade of doubt."

"People would think I wanted the money and the castles--for myself?"
Robin said blankly.

"They would think that if you were a dishonest woman--you wanted all you
could get. Even if you were not actually dishonest they would see you
would want it for your son. You might think it ought to be