“And what did he say about Jack?—You need have no reserve with me, Anna; I am his sister.”
“I know that very well, dear Sarah—but Jack’s name was not mentioned, I believe—certainly not at the particular time, and in the conversation to which I now refer.”
“But at some other time, my dear, and in some other conversation.”
“He did once say something about your brother’s being very attentive to the interests of the person he calls his Duke’s county client—nothing more, I do assure you. It is the duty of young lawyers to be very attentive to the interests of their clients, I should think.”
“Assuredly—and that most especially when the client is a young lady with a pocket full of money. But Jack is above want, and can afford to act right at all times and on all occasions. I wish he had never seen this strange creature.”
Anna Updyke sat silent for some little time, playing with the hem of her pocket-handkerchief. Then she said timidly, speaking as if she wished an answer, even while she dreaded it—
“Does not Marie Moulin know something about her?”
“A great deal, if she would only tell it. But Marie, too, has gone over to the enemy, since she has seen this siren. Not a word can I get out of her, though I have written three letters, beyond the fact that she knows Mademoiselle, and that she cannot believe her guilty.”
“The last, surely, is very important. If really innocent, how hard has been the treatment she has received! It is not surprising that your brother feels so deep an interest in her. He is very warm-hearted and generous, Sarah; and it is just like him to devote his time and talents to the service of the oppressed.”
It was Sarah’s turn to be silent and thoughtful. She made no answer, for she well understood that an impulse very different from that mentioned by her friend was, just then, influencing her brother’s conduct.