“I—I think it must have been Stephen who persuaded him. I heard them talking together.”
“Stephen—that is your son,” said Una.
“Yes, he is my son; he is very good and clever—so very clever! He has been a most affectionate son to me, and has never caused me a day’s uneasiness.”
“All sons are not so?” she asked.
“No, indeed,” responded Mrs. Davenant.
“Is he ill?” asked Una, after a pause.
“Ill!”
“Because he is so pale,” she said.
“Yes, Stephen is pale. It is because he thinks and reads so much, and then he is in great trouble now; his uncle died three days ago.”
“Is that why he is dressed in black—and you, too? I am very sorry.”