“What of that, if it is not true? And that I know, I’m sure of it.”
He cut her short with a quick gesture, dwelling upon the disaster:
“He has brought disgrace on us.”
It was the crime against his race, head of the family as he was, that he condemned, while the Christian woman thought only of her boy’s heart.
“God will not abandon us,” she declared solemnly.
As she uttered these single words of hope Margaret entered, much upset and evidently battling with her dismay. She looked at her father and mother, saw them both suffering there with the same sorrow, and like a stream that breaks its barriers her self-restraint gave way in a burst of tears.
Mrs. Roquevillard drew her to her heart.
“Come to me,” she said.
“Who has been hurting you?” her father demanded.
She was feverish with excitement, but controlled her distress to make some explanation.