She never responds to our praying.
Mrs. Belswin was not a rich woman. When she left her husband she took no money, naturally supposing that Silas P. Oates, who played the part of co-respondent in the divorce case, would take care of her. Their romance, however, came to an end, for the lady's temper being uncertain, and the gentleman's income being equally so, things went anything but smoothly, so they parted. Where her quondam lover went Mrs. Belswin neither knew nor cared, but for her part she earned enough to keep her comfortable by becoming an opera singer. She was a handsome woman, with a fine voice and great dramatic powers, so as time went on she took a first class position on the boards, and therefore earned a great deal of money. Unfortunately, being open-handed and careless in money matters, she spent her income as she earned it, and when she arrived in England in search of her daughter, found herself very badly off. Of course, owing to the peculiar position she held at Thornstream, she had received no salary, as Sir Rupert was the only one who could pay her, and when he saw her, naturally the money question gave way to much more important matters.
After Pethram's death, Mrs. Belswin had taken possession of Kaituna with the intention of marrying her to Maxwell, but now found herself in London with a daughter to provide for and very little money in the bank.
Ferrari, certainly, would have been delighted to have shared his salary with her, but Mrs. Belswin had always kept the Italian at his distance, and was determined not to give him any hold over her by being in his debt. Since leaving Oates, she had lived a decent life, earning her own money and asking favours from no one, so that although she had led a somewhat Bohemian existence, yet, for the sake of her child, she had kept herself pure. Reckless, vehement, careless as she was of all outward appearances, no one could cast a stone at her in a moral sense, and Ferrari, knowing this well, respected her for it. He had often pressed her to take money from him, to be repaid by her marrying him, but Mrs. Belswin, not being prepared to discharge her debts in this way, had always refused. Even now, when her daughter looked to her for support, and but a few pounds stood between her and absolute want, she never thought of asking Ferrari for money, and had he, suspecting her needs, offered it, she would certainly have declined to take advantage of his generosity.
Therefore to appeal to Ferrari was out of the question. But what about Maxwell?
No, Mrs. Belswin had her daughter's happiness too much at heart to jeopardise the girl's future by an appeal to the purse of her future husband. Besides, Maxwell was not rich, for she had heard him lament to Toby Clendon over his lack of money, which made him an unacceptable son-in-law to Sir Rupert.
Clearly, therefore, she could not ask Archie.
Of course there was Dombrain. No doubt, if she asked him he would give her money; but suppose he refused to assist her? Ah, well, then she could force him.
At this point of her meditations Mrs. Belswin stopped.
Could she force him? It was questionable. She did not like the way he looked at her over the dead body of her husband. Certainly she knew his secret and could damage his position in London, which he prized so highly, but then, a worm will turn, and if appearances were against her as they certainly were, about the death of Sir Rupert, he could make things very disagreeable for her. Formerly she would not have minded, but would have dared him in her old reckless fashion, trusting to her indomitable will to carry her through safely, but now she had Kaituna to think of as well as herself, so she determined to leave Mr. Dombrain alone.