“Well, then—Miss Gale will scold me.”
“No, she shall not.”
“Oh, I know you have got the upper hand even of her; so if you promise I shall not be scolded, I'll tell you. You see, I had my misgivings about this very thing; and as soon as Vizard came home—it was he who took her to Aunt Maitland—I asked him what precautions he had taken to hinder that man from getting hold of her again. Well, then—oh, I ought to have begun by telling you Mr. Severne forged bills to get money out of Harrington.”
“Good Heavens!”
“Oh, Harrington will never punish him, if he keeps his distance; but he has advertised in all the papers, warning him that if he sets foot in Barfordshire he will be arrested and sent to prison.”
Ina Klosking shook her head. “When a man is in love with such a woman as that, dangers could hardly deter him.”
“That depends upon the man, I think. But Harrington has done better than that. He has provided her with a watch-dog—the best of all watch-dogs—another lover. Lord Uxmoor lives near Aunt Maitland, and he adores Zoe; so Harrington has commissioned him to watch her, and cure her, and all. I wish he'd cure me—an earl's coronet and twenty thousand a year!”
“You relieve my mind,” said Ina. Then after a pause—“But let me ask you one question more. Why did you not tell me Miss Vizard was gone?”
“I don't know,” said Fanny, coloring up. “She told me not.”
“Who?”