nice young lady; but evil communications, my lady--we all know
what the Bible says. Gentlemen upstairs in her room and her singing to
them, and laughing and talking like as no housemaid in the house as
valued her character would do----"

"Fletcher," said Lucy, "you must say no more about this. It was Mr. Jock
and Mr. Derwentwater only who were with Miss Bice--and with my
permission," she added after a moment, "as he is going away to-morrow."
Such deceits are so easy to learn.

"Oh-oh!" Miss Fletcher cried, with a quaver in her voice. "I beg your
pardon, my lady; I'm sure--I thought--there must be something
underneath, and that Miss Beachy would never---- And when she was down
with Sir Thomas in the study it would be the same, my lady?" the woman
said.

"With Sir Thomas in the study!" The words went vaguely into Lucy's mind.
It had not seemed possible to increase the confusion and misery in her
brain, but this produced a heightening of it, a sort of wave of
bewilderment and pain greater than before, a sense of additional
giddiness and failing. She gave a wave of her hand and said something,
she scarcely knew what, which silenced Fletcher; and then she went down
stairs to the new world. She did not go to the nursery even, as was her
wont; her heart turned from little Tom. She felt that to look at him
would be more than she could bear. There was no deceit in him, no
falsehood--as yet; but perhaps when he grew up he would cheat her too.
He would pretend to love her and betray her trust; he would kiss her,
and then go away and scoff at her; he would smile, and smile, and be a
villain. Such words were not in Lucy's mind, and it was altogether out
of nature that she should even receive the thought: which made it all
the more terrible when it was poured into her soul. And it cannot be
told what discoveries she seemed to make even in the course of that
morning in this strange condition of her mind. There was a haze over
everything, but yet there was an enlightenment even in the haze. She saw
in her little way, as Hamlet saw the falsehood of his courtiers, his
gallant young companions, and the schemes of Polonius, and even Ophelia
in the plot to trap him. She saw how false all these people were in
their civilities, in their extravagant thanks and compliments to her as
they went away; for the Easter recess was just over, and everybody was
going. The mother and her daughters said to her, "Such a delightful
visit, dear Lady Rand