"Bertram, I have a good deal to tell you. You have a very strange story to hear. You must listen as quietly as you can. You must take in the facts as well as you can. The story concerns you deeply—you and another."
"Do you mean my mother?"
"No, I mean Josephine Hart."
"Josephine? This story concerns Josephine. Rector, my brain is whirling."
"Sit down, keep still, listen."
Bertram restrained his impatience with an effort. He sank into a chair; in a moment he rose to his feet.
"I can't keep still," he said. "This story concerns Nina. Does my mother know Nina?"
"I will tell you the whole story, Bertram; I will tell it briefly, and you must listen with patience. You must remember, as you hear, that the woman who played this sorry part is your mother, that she did the wrong out of mistaken love for you, that she has suffered bitterly for her sin."
"Go on, sir; I am listening."
"Remember that the story is about your mother."