"She did the best she could," Felicia answered in a low tone; but there was a glitter in her blue eyes as she spoke which her grandfather did not fail to note; "it was not her fault she had that dreadful illness."
"Illness? What illness was that? Tell me about it."
She did so, explaining how it had been the cause of their great poverty. She spoke of their attic home in Bristol, and the struggling existence of the last two years which had ended with her mother's death. If she had seen the faintest expression of sympathy for her mother in his face, she would have wept aloud, but she saw none, and that helped her to keep her composure.
"And now I suppose you expect to live at the Priory?" he asked when she had finished her tale.
"Mother thought you would want me to live here," she frankly admitted, "but I hope you won't—I have friends who will give me a home. I didn't want to come to the Priory at all, but I had promised mother, and of course I could not break my word. Oh, do please say I may go back to Bristol to Mr. and Mrs. M'Cosh!"
"Who are they? Not the people you have been staying with—that mason and his wife? Yes. So you would rather live with them—eh? Well, I may as well tell you at once that will not be permitted. I shall go to Bristol to-morrow and prove all your statements—not that I doubt them, I believe you have spoken the truth—and I shall pay a visit to this Mr. and Mrs. M'Cosh and settle matters with them; they must not be losers on account of anything they have done—but of course they must have known they would be repaid. Meanwhile, I will lock these papers away in my safe; and, for the present, you will remain at the Priory. Obey me, and you will have nothing to fear; disobey me, and—"
He paused expressively. She had listened with attention and a sinking heart, her arms clasped round the dog's neck. Suddenly, with a little, choking sob she turned away her face from his gaze.
"You are tired and hungry, no doubt," he proceeded hastily, "you must have some refreshment at once."
He rang the bell, and bade the servant who answered it to send Mrs. Price to him. Three minutes later, a stout, elderly woman, wearing a black gown and a white cap, entered the room. Mr. Renford smiled as he noticed the curious, expectant glance she cast at Felicia.
"Look at them," he said pointing at the child and the dog. "Lion found her asleep in the ditch at the bottom of Greenside meadow, and they are friends already. I augur well from that, for dogs seldom make mistakes. Observe her features, Mrs. Price, and tell me if you ever knew anyone like her."