'There are sundry considerations that have interfered,' said he, with a faltering voice, and a veil let down over his eyes. 'You cannot understand. In the higher circles, you know; but she is your mother, and I would rather say no more.'
'Father,' said Winefred, 'I will tell you right out how matters stand here—here, not at Axmouth, only here in Bath. Here I am your child, but my mother is thought to be dead.'
'Dead!' His cheek flushed.
'Only in Bath. She is in Axmouth, and alive there.'
'I do not understand.'
'Mrs. Jose has given out that she was my nurse—my nurse only, not my mother. She did this because my dear mother insisted on it.'
'Oh! true. I am glad.'
'I do not like it. I am unhappy. It is a lie. I hate lies. But I cannot help myself. Here, in Bath, she is known as my nurse.'
'Quite so, your nurse.'
'Yes, in Bath. Elsewhere she is my mother.'