"Mother, it's a lie!"
Taffy's face was hot, but he looked straight into his mother's eyes. She, too, was rosy-red, being ever a shamefast woman. And to speak of these things to her own boy—
"Thank God!" she murmured, and her fingers gripped the arms of her chair.
"It's a lie! Where is the girl?"
"She is in the workhouse. I don't know who spread it, or how many have heard. But Honoria believes it."
"Honoria! She cannot—" He came to a sudden halt. "But, mother, even supposing Honoria believes it, I don't see—"
He was looking straight at her. Her eyes sank. Light began to break in on him.
"Mother!"
Humility did not look up.
"Mother! Don't tell me that she—that Honoria—"