“No,” Mr. Simmonds agreed hesitatingly, “I fear that for the present that plan had better remain in abeyance; we can take it up again later on when this matter is put straight.”
“That may be never,” Ned said decidedly, “so we need say no more about it.”
“And now, my boy,” Mr. Porson said, “try and eat some lunch. I have just ordered a post chaise to be round at the door in half an hour. The sooner we start the better. The fresh air and the change will do you good, and we shall have plenty of time to talk on the road.”
CHAPTER XVI: LUKE MARNER'S SACRIFICE
Not until they had left York behind them did Ned ask after his mother. He knew that if there had been anything pleasant to tell about her he would have heard it at once, and the silence of his friends warned him that the subject was not an agreeable one.
“How is my mother?” he asked at last abruptly.
“Well, Ned,” Dr. Green replied, “I have been expecting your question, and I am sorry to say that I have nothing agreeable to tell you.”
“That I was sure of,” Ned said with a hard laugh. “As I have received no message from her from the day I was arrested I guessed pretty well that whatever doubt other people might feel, my mother was positive that I had murdered her husband.”
“The fact is, Ned,” Dr. Green said cautiously, “your mother is not at present quite accountable for her opinions. The shock which she has undergone has, I think, unhinged her mind. Worthless as I believe him to have been, this man had entirely gained her affections. She has not risen from her bed since he died.