"I daren't quit hold of him for a moment, sir. He was so dazed and stupid, he didn't even know me at the first. That was why I say it was instinct, not knowledge, that guided him to the place. If I had left him to speak to any one in the house, he might have gone off, and I never seen him again. That was why I felt obliged to go sir, and am very sorry for the inconvenience I know I must have caused."
Caspar nodded gravely. "I see," he said. "Of course it was inconvenient, and we were anxious—there's no denying that. But I can see the matter from your point of view. Would you like to see Miss Lesley and explain it to her?"
"I'd rather leave it in your hands, sir," said Mary Trent. "Because there's one thing more I've got to mention before I go. And Miss Lesley may not thank me for mentioning it, although I do it to save her—poor lamb—and to save you too, sir, from a great trouble and sorrow and disgrace that hangs over you all just now."
Caspar flushed. "Disgrace?" he said, almost angrily.
And Mrs. Trent looked at him full in the face and nodded gravely, as she answered—
CHAPTER XXXI.
"A FAIRLY GOOD REASON."
Caspar Brooke's attitude stiffened. His features and limbs became suddenly rigid.