‘No, indeed, my boy. Say Thank God for all His mercy.’
He repeated it and added of himself, ‘Bless nursey, and let Tommy and Fan have papas and mammas again. Amen.’
He was nodding again by that time, but he held his mother’s hand fast with ‘Don’t go, Mam!’ Nor did she. She had asked no questions. To be alone with her boy and Him, whom she thanked with her whole soul, was enough for her at present.
CHAPTER XLI
THE CANADIAN NORTHMOOR
It was not till Lord Northmoor began to answer in detail the questions that were showered on him as he ate his late dinner, that he fully realised the history of his recovered son even to himself. ‘Liverpool Workhouse,’ and ‘all owing to Herbert,’ were his first replies, and he had eaten his soup before Adela and Constance had discovered the connection between the two; nay, they were still more bewildered when Constance asked, ‘Then Herbert found him there?’
‘Herbert? Oh no, good fellow. He is in Canada, he went after him there.’
‘To Canada?’
‘Yes; that woman, the nursery girl Hall, kidnapped the child, Herbert followed her there, and found he had been dropped at Liverpool.’
Then on further inquiries, Frank became sensible that he must guard the secret of Ida’s part in the transaction. He hoped to conceal it from all, except his wife, for it was hardly injustice to the Jones pair in another hemisphere to let their
revenge bear the whole blame. Indeed, he did not himself know that it was Ida’s passion or Rose’s mention of having seen Michael’s face that had roused Herbert’s suspicion.