“Who, I?” said she; “I had him! No, father, I am not guilty of the black crime of adultery; God, He knows my innocence; I am not worthy to be the mother of such a sweet youth as that is.”
“You are not his mother, then, nor Andrew his father?”
“Oh, what shall I do?” said Margery; “Andrew will be the death of me!”
“No, he shall not,” said Edmund; “you shall be protected and rewarded for the discovery.”
“Goody,” said Oswald, “confess the whole truth, and I will protect you from harm and from blame; you may be the means of making Edmund’s fortune, in which case he will certainly provide for you; on the other hand, by an obstinate silence you will deprive yourself of all advantages you might receive from the discovery; and, beside, you will soon be examined in a different manner, and be obliged to confess all you know, and nobody will thank you for it.”
“Ah,” said she, “but Andrew beat me the last time I spoke to Edmund; and told me he would break every bone in my skin, if ever I spoke to him again.”
“He knows it then?” said Oswald.
“He know it! Lord help you, it was all his own doing.”
“Tell us then,” said Oswald; “for Andrew shall never know it, till it is out of his power to punish you.”
“‘Tis a long story,” said she, “and cannot be told in a few words.”