“I suppose no one knows who the father is? He has not acknowledged the child!”
No; that was a mystery still.
About a week later, Craddock Dene was amazed by the news that Mrs. Temperley had taken the child of Ellen Jervis under her protection. A cottage had been secured on the road to Craddock, a trustworthy nurse engaged, and here the babe was established, with the consent and blessing of the aunt.
“You are the most inconsistent woman I ever met!” exclaimed Miss Du Prel.
“Why inconsistent?”
“You say that children have been the means, from time immemorial, of enslaving women, and here you go and adopt one of your enslavers!”
“But this child is not legitimate.”
Valeria stared.
“Whatever the wrongs of Ellen Jervis, at least there were no laws written, and unwritten, which demanded of her as a duty that she should become the mother of this child. In that respect she escapes the ignominy reserved for the married mother who produces children that are not even hers.”
“You do manage to ferret out the unpleasant aspects of our position!” Miss Du Prel exclaimed. “But I want to know why you do this, Hadria. It is good of you, but totally unlike you.”