"Oh, I shall save you that trouble by asking you questions. In the first place, who is Mrs. Bezel?"
"My mother!"
Tait bounded from his chair with an expression of incredulity. This unexpected information, so abruptly conveyed, was too much for his self-control.
"Your mother!" he stammered, hardly thinking he had heard aright. "Are you in earnest? I cannot believe it. According to the notice in the newspapers, according to Hilliston, your mother died in London in 1867."
"She did not die. Her death was a feigned one, to escape the notoriety gained by her trial at Canterbury."
"Did Mr. Hilliston know she was alive?"
"Yes. It was by his advice that she changed her name."
"Oh! Oh!" said Tait, with marked significance; "Hilliston knew, Hilliston advised. Humph! John Parver may be right, after all."
"Tait, be silent! You are speaking of my mother."
"I beg your pardon, my dear fellow, but I really do not understand."