"But I gave it to you without conditions." Her manner for the moment was that of a child seeking reassurance.
"Thank God! you did," he cried, with an irrepressible burst of sympathy.
"It's not much for a thief to have done, is it? But now I should like to do it all properly. Tell me; ought I to come away from here to-day, and give everything I have here to Lady Rose? If I ought, I will!"
"No, certainly not," said Mark. "I have been asked to offer you liberal conditions if you would agree to a compromise. I said they had come to quite the wrong person. No, no, don't think I told them. They have fresh evidence that there was a will, and they believe they know that important papers were brought to you by Dr. Larrone when your mother died."
"And you came to frighten me with this?" There was a touch of reproach in her tone.
"No, I came, hoping you would give me the paper, as you have done, without knowing this."
Evidently this news impressed Molly deeply, but she did not want to discuss it. Presently she said:
"I am glad you came in time before I was frightened. How you have wanted to make me save my soul! You have helped me very much, but I cannot save my soul."
"But God can," said Mark.
"You see," she went on, "I never know what I am going to do—going to be—next. Imagine my being a thief! It seems now almost incredible. And I don't know what may come next."