They proved to be letters from his mother’s sister and mother. At first the letters were ordinary accounts of the immaterial happenings about home that would interest a member of the family who was far away. Then the tone of the letters changed to a veiled pity, and there were many suggestions that she should come home for a visit, and at last Dee opened a letter that had evidently been many times read. And it was spotted as though by tears.
“Dear Sister:
“Your last letter, although not wholly unexpected, was such a shock to me that I have delayed answering it until I could believe myself in a calmer frame of mind.
“Oh, Mary, my dear, dear sister, to think that you should be in such trouble! Yet your letter is very vague. You say, 'I have discovered that my husband is a fiend; a fiend in human guise,’ yet you do not tell me what has led you to this opinion. And you continue by assuring me that I must not worry over your welfare as Mr. De Lorme always treats you with the greatest respect and affection. What can you mean, my dear sister?
“Come home, Mary, and let me hear all. If for any reason you feel that you must be guarded in expressing yourself in a letter, you know I will keep your secret with my life.
“Come home, and bring Marion. If this thing is as dreadful as it appears to you, I cannot be too glad that Marion is not Mr. De Lorme’s son.
“Poor little boy! It is a sorry fate for him, losing his own father before he was born, and the second marriage which you fondly thought would be such a great benefit to the child turning out badly and so soon! I hope that your husband is not unkind to Marion.
“Well, my dear, you have a home with me as long as I live, and afterwards you know this farm is yours. Three hundred acres all under cultivation in the best part of the state. It is a goodly inheritance. It will help the boy.”
With many tender assurances of love, the letter closed.
There were seven letters in all that touched on the terrible knowledge that had come to Dee’s mother, but not a hint of the nature of the disgrace, if disgrace it was.