"He has forged the names of two of his friends--old brother officers; Lord Hinchenbrook is one, and young Latham the other--to bills for five thousand pounds. I've had the bills in my hands, and seen letters from the men denying their signatures to-night, and--"
"But Lionel--where is he? in prison?"
"No; he saw the crash coming, and fled from it. Farquhar showed me a blotted letter from him, written from Liverpool, saying in a few lines that he had disgraced us all, that he was on the point of sailing under a feigned name for Australia, and that we should never see him again."
"Never see him again! my boy, my own darling boy!" and Lady Beauport burst into an agony of tears.
"Gertrude," said her husband, when the first wild storm of grief had subsided, "calm yourself for one instant."
He rang the bell, and to the servant answering it, said:
"Tell Lord Caterham I wish to speak to him, and beg Miss Maurice to be good enough to step here."
Lady Beauport was about to speak, but the Earl said coldly:
"I wish it, if you please;" and reiterated his commands to the servant, who left the room. "I have fully decided, Gertrude, on the step I am about to take. To-morrow those forged bills will be mine. I saw young Latham at Farquhar's, and he said--" Lord Beauport's voice shook here--"said everything that was kind and noble; and Hinchenbrook has said the same to Farquhar. It--it cannot be kept quiet, of course. Every club is probably ringing with it now; but they will let me have the bills. And from this moment, Gertrude, that boy's name must never be uttered, save in our prayers--in our prayers for his forgiveness and--and repentance--by you, his mother; by me his father,--nor by any one in this house. He is dead to us for ever!"
"Beauport, for Heaven's sake--"