od-bye to
him, and we parted.

'Well, I took Biddy into my confidence; she was a faithful creature, and
had been devoted to me since my childhood. She had accompanied me to
England on my marriage, and had been my one comfort before the children
were born. Strange to say, she had always disliked Mat, and if I had
only listened to her, his wooing would have been unsuccessful.

'I found a lawyer who would do my business, and then I took a lodging at
Richmond and called myself Mrs. Blake, and for a few years we lived
quietly and comfortably.'

'The investments had prospered, one especially was yielding a handsome
dividend, so I was better off than I expected. I had got rid of some
house property, and I put aside this money for my boy's education. I
need not tell you that he was my one thought. Sometimes, when I saw him
growing so fast, and looking so noble and handsome, my heart would quite
swell with pride and happiness to think he was my son; and I forgot Mat
and the past wretchedness, and only lived in and for him. My other
children were nothing to me compared to him.'

'And you heard nothing of your husband?'

'I tell you I had no husband; he was dead to me. Do you think I would
allow a man like Mat to blight my boy's career--a poor creature, weak as
water, and never able to keep straight; a man who could be cowed into
giving up his own wife and children? I would have died a hundred times
over before I would have let Cyril know that his father was a convict.'

Michael held his peace, but he shuddered slightly as he thought of
Audrey. 'They will make her give him up,' he said to himself.

'Yes, I was happy then,' she went on. 'I always had an elastic
temperament. I did not mind the poverty and shifts as long as Cyril was
well and contented. I used to glory in giving up one little comfort
after another, and stinting myself that he might have the books he
needed when he was at Oxford. I used to live on his letters, and the day
when he came home was a red-letter day.'

'And you never trembled at the idea that one day you might come face to
face with your husband?'

'Oh no; such a thought never crossed my mind. I knew Mat too well to
fear that he would hunt me out and make a scene. Another man would, in
his place, but not Mat: he had always been afraid of me, and he dared
not try it on. It was accident--mere accident--that made him cross my
path yesterday. But I know I can manage him still, and you--you will not
b